*c 

• 


KAMI'S  VACATION; 


OR, 


at 


BT 

WILLIAM  C.  RICHARDS,  A.M. 


AUTHOB  8   REVISED   EDITION. 


NEW     YORK: 

D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  549  &  551  BROADWAY. 

LONDON  ;  16  LITTLE  BRITAIN. 

1873. 


EXTF.EED,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  In  the  year  1868, 

BY  WILLIAM  C.  EICHAEDS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  tht 
District  of  Ekode  Island. 


PREFACE. 

THE  first  appearance  of  this  volume  dates 
back  nearly  nine  years,  at  which  time  one  or 
two  editions  of  it  were  speedily  exhausted,  and 
many  most  flattering  notices  of  it  appeared  in 
the  papers  and  periodicals.  It  was  hailed  and 
welcomed  as  a  novel  and  valuable  contribution 
to  the  literature  for  the  young. 

Circumstances  beyond  the  control  of  the 
author  prevented  its  continued  publication, 
and  it  has  been  out  of  print  for  several  years, 
while  its  popularity,  with  the  class  for  which  it 
was  designed,  has  undergone  no  diminution. 
It  is  deemed  proper,  therefore,  to  reprint  the 
book,  and  the  author  has  subjected  it  to  such 
revision  as  was  necessary. 

It  was  his  original  purpose  to  follow  the 
book  with  other  volumes  upon  the  same  gen- 
eral plan,  which  contemplates  the  diffusion  of 


S031316 


2  PREFACE. 

valuable  instruction  in  popular  philosophy  in 
the  pleasing  guise  of  story  and  with  the  acces- 
sories of  fictitious  incidents.  A  second  volume 
may  be  expected  next  year. 

PBOTIDKNCE,  Aug.  25,  1863. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PAQI 

The  School-fellows,  Harry  and  Herbert — The  Invitation — 
Arrival  at  Beechwood — Doctor  Sinclair  and  his  Family — 
Herbert's  Welcome — An  Afternoon's  Amusement — The 
Library — Evening  Worship — Herbert's  Dream,  ...  9 

CHAPTER    II. 

Getting  up  Late — Dr.  Sinclair's  Plan — Jack  Frost's  Exploits 
— The  Ice-bottle— Crystallized  Breath — Breakfast  Conver- 
sation— Fanny's  Experiment — Alice's  Explanation — Heat 
and  Cold — Frost-burn, 22 

CHAPTER    III. 

The  Microscope — Frost-work — Stars  and  Diamonds — A  Fluid 
Globe — Why  the  Frost-Crystals  Disappeared — The  Ice- 
Bottle  Arraigned — Its  Defence — A  Wonderful  Exception — 
The  Lead  Tree— Affinity  Illustrated, 34 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Mr.  Oldbuckle— A  Rock  of  Alum— Salts— A  Disaster— Why 
the  Dish  Fell— Gravitation— Sir  Isaac  Newton's  Dis- 
covery— Mutual  Attraction  of  Bodies— An  Experiment  Pro» 
posed, 49 


H  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    V. 

TAOt 

The  Walk  to  the  Well— The  Yellow  Leaf—  Gravitation  Re- 
sisted—The Guinea  and  Feather  Experiment— Velocity  of 
Falling  Bodies— A  Rule— The  Deep  Well— The  Pebble 
thrown  in— The  Result— Preparation  for  the  Sabbath- 
How  the  Day  was  Spent,  ....•••  52 

CHAPTER    VI. 

A  Surprise— William  Sinclair  — His  Welcome  —  Mary— A 
Mother's  Joy — Table-Talk — Evening  Amusement — Music 
— A  Charade-Play  Proposed, 60 

CHAPTER    VII. 

The  Charade  in  Three  Acts  —  Mew  —  Sick  —  Music  —  Old 
Hundred, 71 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Snow — Congratulations — Snow  in  the  City — Snow-Crystal? 
— Uses  of  Snow — The  Snow-Blanket — Travellers  in  the 
Alps — Harry's  Wise  Resolution — Why  Snow-Crystals  are 
Opaque — Why  Lofty  Mountain  Tops  are  Covered  with 
Snow— Sledding— An  Upset, 38 

CHAPTER    IX. 

An  Accession  to  the  Party — Mr.  Oldbuckle  Declines  an  Ad- 
venture— A  Sleigh-Ride  Proposed  —  Early  Dinner  —  The 
Sleigh— The  Start— Ten  Miles  an  Hour— Viviandale— The 
Vivians — William  Sinclair's  Desertion — A  Pardon  and  its 
Conditions — Gertrude  Vivian — The  Return  Home,  .  .  93 

CHAPTER    X. 

Tea-table  Chat— Alliteration — Herbert's  Acknowledgment — 
Fanny's  Wish— Papa's  Consent— The  Laboratory— The 


CONTENTS.  Ill 

Magic  Lantern  —  Its  History  —  Lenses  —  The  Darkened 
Room— A  Mistake  which  was  not  a  Mistake — Optical  Illu- 
sions— Fanny  Frightened  at  her  Shadow — Spectral  Images 
— Fanny's  Gratitude, 102 

CHAPTER    XI. 

The  Arrival — Gertrude  Vivian's  Welcome — Her  Dilemma — 
Mr.  Oldbuckle — Fire-works — The  Relations  of  Pyrotechny 
to  Science — History  of  Fire-works — A  Sad  Story — Memor- 
able Displays — Ixion's  Wheel — Mr.  Oldbuckle's  Apology,  J13 

CHAPTER    XII. 

Preparations  for  the  Fire-works — Waiting  for  the  Darkness — 
Amusement  for  the  Interval  —  Playing  Proverbs  —  Nine 
o'clock,  r.v  "v  i  "i  '-  .  .  .  .  v" '-V-'  .125 

CHAPTER     XIII. 

A  Compromise  —  The  Signal — Flight  of  Rockets  —  The 
Rocket's  Path— Why  the  Rocket  rises— Its  Rudder— Ro- 
man Candles — Sea  Signals — A  Catharine  Wheel — Couran- 
tines — A  Dragon — A  Spiral  Rocket — Serpents — Loaded 
Rockets— The  Daft  Boy— Chinese  Fire— A  Mock  Sun — 
Alice — Thanks, 131 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

Fanny's  "Merry  Christmas" — Old  Jacob  Fletcher — Alice's 
Greetings — Mr.  Oldbuckle's  Memories — Morning  Worship 
— A  Christmas  Hymn — Christmas  in  America — Why  Not 
Generally  Observed  —  Chronology  at  Fault — Wishes— 
Christmas  at  the  South — Negro  Festivals — The  Southern 
"  Yule  Log" — Christmas-greens — Mr.  Oldbuckle's  Proposi- 
tion— Its  General  Acceptance, 146 


iv  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XV. 

PAOI 

Christmas  Dinner  —  Church  Decoration  —  Wordswort  i  — 
Snap-Dragon — Evening  Amusement — Charade  Plays — In- 
firm—Wedlock,   127 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

Adieus— Departures— More  Snow — Fanny's  Balls — Science 
in  Soap-bubbles  —  Elasticity  —  Form — Inertia  —  Variable 
Colours, .  169 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

The  Return — Anecdote  of  the  Iron  Duke — Napoleon  and 
Wellington— Sir  Humphrey  Davy— A  Chemical  Process,  179 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Hydrogen  Gas — Its  Levity — More  Soap-bubbles — Miniature 
Balloons — Origin  of  Balloons — Dr.  Sinclair's  Balloon — Its 
Ascent — Effect  of  Hydrogen  upon  the  Voice,  .  .  .  139 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

The  Aurora  Borealis — Mr.  Oldbuckle's  Appearance — Polar 
Phenomena — Cause  of  the  Aurora — Dr.  Sinclair's  Illustra- 
tion— The  Electrical  Theory  Triumphant,  ....  200 

CHAPTER    XX. 

A  Gift  for  Alice — Narrow  Escape  of  the  ^Eronaut — The  Fugi- 
tive Bubble— Making  a  Noise  in  the  World— A  Wonderful 
Change— Water  at  Fins— Illuminating  Gas— Elements- 
Carbon,  .  •, t  211 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

. 

The  Pond  —  Skating  —  A  Collision  —  Harry's  Mysterious  De- 
parture —  Sledding  on  the  Pond  —  An  Upset  —  Inertia  —  Dr. 
Sinclair  on  the  Ice  —  A  Surprise  at  Home  —  More  Sport  on 
the  Ice—  The  Skating  Trio—  A  Novel  Sleigh-ride,  .  .  222 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

Better  Late  than  Never  —  Christmas  Gifts  —  Their  Distribu- 
tion —  Fanny's  White  Swans  —  The  Magic  Wand—  Feeding 
the  Swans  —  Fanny's  Wonder  —  Magnetism  —  The  Mariner's 
Compass,  ..........  233 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

The  Fairy  Balloon—  William  Sinclair's  Magic—  The  Spell  Ex- 
plained  —  Alice's  Ink-stand  —  The  Canary's  Water-bottle  — 
Alice  in  Spangles  —  The  Diamond  Necklace  —  Electrical 
Light,  ......  ••  j.,,.^  ....,.,.».  .......212 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

A  Cold  Day  —  Electrical  Apparatus  —  History  of  Electricity  — 
Origin  of  the  Term  —  Electrics  —  Conductors  —  Insulation  — 
Harry  Declines  the  Rod  —  William  and  Mary  Conductors 
—  How  Franklin  Caught  the  Lightning  —  Lightning  Rods  — 
The  Leyden  Jar  —  Induction  —  Harry's  Gift,  *.••.  ..,...,  .256 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

The  Miser's  Plate  —  Harry's  Avarice  Outwitted  —  Gertrude 
Vivian  Shocked  —  William  Sinclair's  Stratagem  Detected  — 
The  Penalty  —  Fanny's  Hair  on  End  —  A  Bright  Kiss  —  Harry 
on  the  Stool  —  A  Pistol  Fired  by  his  Nose  —  Ether  set  on 
Fire  by  an  Icicle—  The  Fatal  Stroke,  .....  268 


Vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

FAGS 

The  Afternoon — Tea-time — Music — Capping  Verses— Verse 
versus  Stanza — The  Play — Conundrums,  ....  279 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Why  Natural  Science  is  often  a  Dull  Study — Harry's  Ex- 
periment— The  Sucker — The  Atmosphere — Winds  and 
Hurricanes — Weight  of  the  Air — Alice  Raised  by  the  Air — 
The  Difference, 291 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

The  Air-Pump — Harry  Made  Prisoner — Cupping — The  Fly's 
Foot— The  Barometer— The  Grand  Duke's  Well— Toricelli 
— Measuring  Heights, 303 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

More  Philosophy  for  Miss  Vivian — The  Laboratory — Empty 
Jars — Oxygen — The  Magic  Taper — Combustion — Burning 
a  Watch-spring — Oxyd  of  Steel  —  Sparkling  Carbon  — 
Carbonic  Acid  Gas — The  Grotto  del  Cane — The  Martyred 
Mouse, .  .  .314 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

The  Resuscitation — Too  Much  of  a  Good  Thing — Atmos- 
pheric Air — Supply  of  Oxygen — Producing  an  Alkali — Fire 
from  Ice — The  Mock  Sun — Sulphurous  Acid— The  Com- 
pound Blow-pipe — Burning  a  Ten-penny  Nail — The  Drum- 
mond  Light — The  Bude  Lamp — A  Feu  de  Joiet  .  .  .  829 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 

The  New  Year — Fanny's  Regrets  and  Reasons — Childish 
Philosophy— The  Bent  Spoon— An  Optical  Illusion— Bring- 


CONTENTS.  Vii 

PAOI 

ing  a  Sovereign  to  Light — Explanations — Twilight— The 
Spectre  of  the  Brocken — Departures, 339 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

A  Sleigh-Ride — A  Snow  Landscape— The  Railroad  Station— 
A  Late  Train — Rale  of  Speed — Railways  in  England  and 
America — English  Engines— Brother  Jonathan's  Railroads 
— The  Locomotive— Its  History — The  Return,  .  .  .  351 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

Snow-Sports — The  Telescope  — The  Tower-Chamber  —  His- 
tory of  the  Telescope — Varieties — Lord  Rosse's  Telescope — 
The  Moon — Her  Revolutions — Telescopic  Views — Surface 
of  the  Moon — The  Moon-Hoax — A  Star — Jupiter  and  his 
Moons — Addison's  Hymn, 861 

CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

Alice's  Wish — Ur.  Sinclair's  Consent — Waiting  for  Mr.  Old- 
buckle— His  Arrival— Lord  Rosse's  Telescope  Again — The 
Microscope — The  Wonders  of  a  Fly — The  Spider's  "  Hand" 
— A  Flea — Wonderful  Leaping — Various  Woods — The 
Skin  and  its  Pores— Fanny's  Hair — Points  Contrasted — 
Other  Objects— Animated  Nature  Displayed,  .  .  .  3V4 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

Infusiorae — Wheel  Animalculse  —  Flint-Shelled  Infusiorse— 
Fossils  —  Flint— Chalk  —  Polishing  Slate— Fossil-Flour— 
Dirt-Eaters — Eating  Slate-Pencils  —  Microscopic  Blood — 
The  Wisdom  of  God— Thoughts  of  To-morrow— Pleasant 
Intelligence— Mr.  Oldbuckle's  Adieus— The  End  of  Harry's 
Vacation, 3~' 


arrj's 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  School-fellows,  Harry  and  Herbert — The  Invitation — Arriral 
at  Beech  wood — Doctor  Sinclair  and  his  Family — Herbert's  Wel- 
come— An  Afternoon's  Amusement — The  Library — Evening 
Worship — Herbert's  Dream. 

»f  TTERBERT,  you  must  go  to  Beechwood  with 
JJL  me>  fl^d  spend  the  vacation ;  indeed  you 
must.  I  am  sure  papa  and  mamma  and  the  girls 
will  be  delighted  to  have  you,  and  brother  Willie 
will  be  home  at  Christmas.  Would  n't  we  have 
rare  fun,  though!  Really,  Herbert,  you  must  go. 
Ask  your  papa  this  very  night,  to  let  you  go — won't 
you?" 

"  You  forget,  Harry,  that  even  if  papa  would  con- 
sent,  I  could  not  go  until  you  had  asked  your  parents 
about  it." 

"  Oh !  never  mind  about  that,"  returned  Harry. 
"  Only  say  that  you  will  go,  and  I  will  write  to 
mamma  to  invite  you." 

"  That's  one  way  of  disposing  of  the  matter  any- 
how !"  said  Herbert,  laughing  ;  "  but  truly,  Harry, 
I  should  like,  of  all  things,  to  go  with  you ;  and  1 


10  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

will  promise  you  to  ask  my  parents  about  it,  "when 
you  have  succeeded  in  getting  an  invitation  for  me." 

This  conversation  took  place  between  two  lads  ol 
almost  the  same  age,  who  were  attending  school  to- 
gether in  the  city  of .  The  first  speaker  was 

Harry  Sinclair,  whose  parents  resided  at  a  consider- 
able distance  from  the  city.  The  other  was  Herbert 
Kussel,  whose  father  was  a  clergyman  residing  in 
the  city.  They  were  both  amiable  and  intelligent 
boys,  and  that  sort  of  intimacy  had  sprung  up  be 
tween  them  which  often  exists  between  school-fellows, 
especially  when  there  is  congeniality  of  temper. 
Harry  Sinclair  was  the  younger  son  of  a  physician, 
who  had  formerly  practised  his  profession  in  the 
city  ;  but  fortune  having  showered  her  favours  upon 
him,  soon  after  the  birth  of  Harry,  in  the  shape  of  a 
legacy  from  a  distant  relative  in  England,  he  relin- 
quished his  profession,  and  purchased  a  farm  in  the 
interior  of  the  State,  where  he  devoted  himself  to 
agricultural  pursuits,  and  gathered  around  him  the 
comforts  and  luxuries  of  life.  Among  the  latter 
were  some  for  which  most  people,  unfortunately,  care 
yery  little — a  large  library  of  choice  books,  and  a 
collection  of  philosophical  instruments,  in  the  use  of 
which  Dr.  Sinclair  was  exceedingly  well  skilled. 

The  doctor  had  five  children — two  sons  and  three 
daughters.  For  the  education  of  the  latter,  he  em- 
ployed a  governess  at  home — both  he  and  Mrs.  Sin- 
clair agreeing  in  the  opinion,  that  home  education  is 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  11 

the  best  for  girls,  at  least  during  the  earlier  years  of 
their  studies.  His  sons,  however,  were  sent  to  the 
best  schools,  and  his  eldest  had  nearly  completed  his 
course  at University. 

A  few  days  after  the  conversation  recorded  above, 
as  Harry  and  his  friend  met  at  school,  the  former 
thrust  into  Herbert's  hand  an  open  letter,  exclaiming 
joyously : 

"  There,  Herbert,  mamma  has  written  to  invite 
you  to  spend  the  vacation  with  me  at  my  home,  and 
sister  Ally — Alice,  my  eldest  sister,  you  know,  Her- 
bert— says  in  a  postscript,  '  I  should  be  happy  to 
see  your  friend  and  school-fellow,  Master  Russel,  and 
hope  you  will  prevail  upon  him  to  come  home  with 
you,  as  Mary  and  Fanny  and  myself  are  to  have 
vacation,  too — Miss  Maurice  wishing  to  pass  the 
Christmas  holidays  with  her  friends.  I  am  antici- 
pating your  return  with  great  pleasure.' 

"  Now,  Herbert,"  continued  Harry,  "  let  us  take 
this  letter  and  get  your  papa's  consent  at  once,  for 
you  know  school  breaks  up  next  week,  and  I  am  to 
start  immediately  after." 

Herbert  needed  very  little  persuasion — he  was 
only  too  happy,  indeed,  to  consent  to  his  school-fel- 
low's proposition.  At  noon,  therefore  —  for  they 
were  both  too  good  boys  to  miss  being  present  at 
the  opening  of  the  school — they  went  together  to 
Herbert's  home,  and  eagerly  made  their  plans  and 
Wishes  known  to  the  good  clergyman,  whose  consent 


12  HAKRY'S  VACATION;  OK. 

was  very  soon  obtained,  as  well  as  that  of  Herbert's 
excellent  mamma.  They  had  been  well  acquainted 
with  Dr.  Sinclair  and  his  family  in  previous  years, 
and  a  very  strong  mutual  regard  existed.  So  it  was 
settled  that  Herbert  should  go  home  with  his  school- 
mate ;  and  neither  of  them  could  talk  of  any  thing 
else  for  the  brief  interval  which  was  to  elapse  before 
the  close  of  the  term. 

I  will  not  weary  my  readers  with  details  of  theii 
anticipations — their  preparations  for  the  journey — 
the  excellent  counsels  which  Herbert  received  from 
his  parents,  or  even  with  the  journey  itself,  which 
was  performed  partly  by  railway,  and  partly  in  the 
family  carriage  of  the  Sinclairs,  which  was  sent  to 
meet  our  travellers  at  the  nearest  station  to  theii 
residence.  All  these  things  I  will  pass  over,  and 
introduce  the  reader  at  once  to  Beechwood. 

Externally  it  was  a  very  pleasant  place.  The 
house,  which  was  built  of  stone,  was  large,  and  had 
an  exceedingly  picturesque  appearance  with  its  steep 
Gothic  roofs,  twin  gables,  and  a  tower  which  rose  at 
the  extremity  of  the  east  wing  of  the  building.  This 
tower  and  a  large  part  of  the  front  of  the  house  was 
nearly  covered  with  ivy,  the  dark  luxuriant  foliage 
of  which  gave  an  appearance  of  age  to  the  house 
far  greater  than  that  which  justly  belonged  to  it. 

Immediately  behind  the  house,  and  rising  with  a 
gentle  slope,  was  a  fine  extent  of  woodland ;  in  which 
the  beech  trees  so  greatly  predominated  that  they 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  13 

gave  their  name  to  the  domain.  These  woods,  sc 
beautiful  in  summer  with  their  wealth  of  verdure, 
and  so  resplendent  in  the  fall  with  the  varied  tints 
which  the  early  frosts  give  to  the  leaves  of  the  beech, 
until  they  seem  to  be  dyed  in  the  colours  of  the  rain- 
bow, were  now,  of  course,  all  bare  and  brown.  The 
grounds  in  every  direction  were  tastefully  laid  out, 
and  embellished  with  choice  trees  and  shrubbery. 
The  brilliant  sward  of  the  summer  was  not  now  to 
be  seen,  however,  and  the  spacious  garden  in  front  of 
the  hall  wore  no  attractive  dress.  The  broad  gra- 
velled carriage-road  which  swept  circuitously  through 
the  garden  was  fringed  upon  both  sides  with  a  hedge 
of  evergreen  shrubbery,  the  still  shining  verdure  of 
which,  together  with  that  of  the  ivy  upon  the  house, 
and  also  of  some  fine  laurels,  greatly  relieved  the 
wintry  aspect  of  the  scene. 

A  closer  approach  to  the  dwelling  brought  into 
view,  upon  the  west  side,  a  handsome  conservatory, 
in  which  was  a  multitude  of  rare  and  beautiful 
plants  in  full  verdure  and  in  gay  bloom.  A  glimpse 
of  this  floral  paradise  helped  very  much,  I  think,  to 
banish  from  Herbert's  mind  a  feeling  of  regret  which 
had  just  entered  there  in  spite  of  his  pleasure  at 
having  reached  the  home  of  his  favourite  companion 
— a  regret  that  it  was  not  summer  instead  of  winter, 
that  he  might  see  Beechwood  in  all  its  glory. 

He  had  not  time  to  think  more  about  it,  or  per- 
haps  he  would  have  recollected  the  matchless  sports 


14  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  JR, 

of  the  season,  in  the  snow  and  upon  the  ice,  and  the 
charms  of  the  winter  fireside,  and  so  felt  glad,  after 
all,  that  it  was  winter !  He  had  not  time  to  think 
of  all  this,  for  the  carriage  now  stopped  at  the  very 
door  of  the  hall.  A  pair  of  bright  and  joyous  faces 
appeared  for  an  instant  only  at  one  of  the  parlour 
windows ;  and  while  Herbert  was  giving  them  the 
names  he  already  knew  so  well,  he  and  Harry  had 
passed  up  the  steps  and  were  in  the  presence  of  those 
who,  after  all,  had  much  more  to  do  with  the  beauty 
and  charm  of  Beechwood  than  the  season,  or  the 
trees,  or  the  flowers,  or  any  other  external  thing. 

Herbert's  introduction  to  his  new  friends  took 
place  in  the  order  in  which  I  shall  briefly  describe  it. 
Dr.  Sinclair  received  him  with  tokens  of  the  most 
affectionate  regard.  He  was  a  tall  and  handsome 
man,  with  a  very  benevolent  look,  and  easy,  agree- 
able manners.  He  was  about  forty-five  years  of 
age,  but  did  not  seem  so  old.  Mrs.  Sinclair  was 
several  years  younger  than  her  husband,  and  her 
countenance  was  singularly  handsome  and  charming, 
so  that  Herbert  thought  her,  next  to  his  own  dear 
mother,  the  most  winning  person  he  had  ever  seen. 
Her  face  was  lighted  up  with  a  sweet  smile,  as  she 
bade  her  guest  welcome,  and  her  voice — which  was 
gentle  to  every  one — sounded  like  a  familiar  strain 
of  music  to  the  young  boy's  ear. 

Alice  Sinclair  was  just  fourteen — and  the  very  em. 
bodiment  of  grace  and  beauty.  Her  hair,  which  was 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  15 

very  dark,  hung  in  rich  curls  adown  her  neckj  and 
the  outline  of  her  face  was  absolutely  perfect.  Hei 
eye  was  bright  to  dazzling,  and  the  colour  on  her  ex- 
quisitely rounded  cheek  was  as  delicate  as  the  flush 
of  a  young  rose.  She  was  not  bashful,  and  when  her 
mother  spoke  to  her,  holding  Herbert  kindly  by  the 
hand,  and  saying,  "  Alice,  my  daughter,  this  is  your 
brother's  playmate,  Herbert  Russel, — welcome  him 
to  Beechwood,"  she  said  sweetly,  at  the  same  time 
extending  her  hand, 

"  I  am  sure,  mamma,  I  am  pleased  to  see  Master 
Kussel,  and  hope  he  will  be  happy  with  us  at  Beech- 
wood." 

I  suppose  my  little  readers  will  be  inclined  to 
laugh  at  Herbert,  if  I  tell  them  that  he  lost  his  heart 
at  first  sight  to  Alice,  but  I  can't  help  it  if  they  do, 
for  I  am  obliged  to  tell  them  the  truth,  and,  for  my 
part,  I  don't  tit  all  wonder  that  he  did. 

Mary  was  only  a  year  younger  than  Alice.  She 
was  almost  as  tall  as  her  sister,  but  her  childhood 
had  been  shadowed  by  a  long  ari  serious  illness, 
which  had  so  enfeebled  her  that  sne  was  far  behind 
Alice  in  the  development  of  her  mind.  She  was, 
moreover,  exceedingly  reserved  and  even  bashful  in 
her  manners,  seeking  generally  to  hide  her  pale  face 
from  the  gaze  of  strangers.  That  face,  however,  was 
full  of  expression  and  even  of  beauty,  particularly 
when  lighted  up  with  interest.  She  received  Harry 
with  evident  delight,  and  when  Herbert  was  intro. 


16  iiAKnvr's  VACATION;  OR, 

duced  to  her  she  extended  her  hand  tx  *iim,  and  the 
soft  but  warm  colour  that  overspread  her  face  ex- 
pressed,  perhaps  as  well  as  words  could  do,  that  he 
was  welcomed  by  her,  also,  to  Beechwood. 

I  must  not  omit  to  mention  little  Fanny.  She  wag 
a  gentle  blue-eyed  child  of  nine  summers — like  her 
mother,  as  every  one  said — and  she,  too,  put  her 
hand  in  Herbert's,  in  token  of  welcome. 

Had  he  been  ever  so  timid  he  could  not  long  have 
resisted  the  kindness  which  was  manifested  to  him 
by  every  one,  both  in  look  and  tone.  Herbert  was 
not  shy,  however.  His  manners  were  as  gentle  and 
as  genial  as  his  feelings,  and  these  responded  imme- 
diately to  the  tokens  of  regard  which  he  received. 

It  was  two  o'clock  when  Harry  and  his  friend 
reached  Beechwood,  and  before  dark  Herbert  was 
acquainted  with  every  body  there,  from  Dr.  Sinclair 
to  the  old  gardener,  Jacob  Fletcher,  who  had  lived 
with  the  family  ever  since  their  removal  from  the 
city.  "With  his  young  friends  he  had  visited  every 
object  of  interest — admired  the  noble  watch-dog, 
praised  the  handsome  pony  and  ridden  on  his  back ; 
played  with  Bob,  Fanny's  pet  squirrel  ;  thrown 
crumbs  to  the  geese  in  the  pond;  raced  with  the 
tame  deer  that  wore  a  collar  embroidered  by  Alice  ;. 
and,  in  short,  had  done  a  hundred  boyish  things, 
quite  natural  and  innocent. 

After  tea  was  over,  the  whole  party  repaired  to  the 
library,  which  was  "o  important  a  part  of  Beechwood 


PHIIOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  17 

Hall  that  I  must  describe  it  very  briefly.  It  was 
quite  a  spacious  room,  occupying  that  wing  of  the 
hall  which  was  flanked  by  the  tower.  The  extremity 
of  the  room  was  formed  by  the  tower  itself,  which 
being  hexagonal,  with  three  of  its  sides  projecting  be- 
yond jthe  wing,  afforded  a  charming  recess.  This 
was  furnished  with  lounges  on  both  sides  of  the  cen- 
tral window,  which  opened  like  folding-doors  upon  a 
terraced  lawn  and  the  garden.  The  library  was  the 
handsomest  room  in  the  hall.  It  was  fifteen  feet 
high,  and  was  lighted  with  deep  windows  upon  the 
front  side  and  in  the  tower.  The  opposite  side  was 
fitted  up  with  handsome  book-cases  of  oak-wood  in 
the  Gothic  style.  There  were  also  similar  cases  be- 
tween the  three  windows  upon  the  front.  A  neat 
chandelier  was  suspended  from  the  ceiling  of  the 
room,  and  bracket  lamps  were  placed  at  the  opposite 
corners  of  the  recess.  Heavy  curtains  of  crimson 
damask  draped  the  windows,  and  the  recess  could  be 
secluded  at  pleasure  by  similar  hangings. 

The  books,  which  constituted  the  chief  excellence 
of  this  delightful  place,  had  been  selected  with  ex- 
ceeding care  and  with  admirable  taste.  While  no 
department  of  English  literature  was  entirely  over- 
looked, works  of  history,  biography,  travels,  belles 
letlres,  and  poetry,  were  the  principal  objects  of 
favour.  Nor  were  fiction  and  romance  excluded  from 
the  library.  Here,  however,  Dr.  Sinclair  had  exer- 
cised great  and  becoming  caution.  He  had  given 


18  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

place  to  the  delightful  books  of  Miss  Edgeworth  and 
Mrs.  Sherwood  and  Miss  Bremer.   The  time-honoured 
fictions  of  Miss  Porter  were  there  also,  although  I 
must  confess  that  the  doctor's  approval  of  these  was 
somewhat  influenced  by  his  recollections  of  their 
charm  to  his  own  childhood.     No  such  apology  is 
needed  for  the  works  of  that  still  unrivalled  master 
of  fiction,  the  admirable  Sir  Walter  Scott.      His 
novels,  his  miscellaneous  works,  and  his  poetry,  so 
fascinating  to  the  young,  were  all  to  be  found  in  the 
library  at  Beechwood.     There,  too,  our  own  Irving 
and  Cooper  and  Shnms  had  a  welcome  place,  and 
the  agreeable  stories  of  James  were  prime  favourites 
with  the  young  people.     Nor  was  Dickens  excluded. 
His  "Household  Words"  had  insured  his  welcome 
to  every  happy  and  intelligent  home ;  and  he  had 
won  sympathy  also,  at  Beechwood,  by  his  matchless 
portrayals  of  character,  his  loving  sympathies  with 
the  wronged,  and  his  beautiful  delineations  of  child- 
life  and  spirit,  in  his  world-renowned  fictions.    These 
were  the  principal  masters  of  fiction  who  were  ad- 
mitted at  Beechwood.     The  introduction  of  new 
claimants  for  favour  was  sparing  and  judicious.     Dr. 
Sinclair  knew  too  well  the  rapid  and  insidious  effect 
of  moral  poison  upon  the  young  mind,  to  run  the  risk 
of  administering  it  to  his  children  through  negligence. 
When  a  new  book  contained  healthful  instruction, 
whether  in  the  guise  of  fact  or  fiction,  he  admitted  it 
to  the  companionship  of  his  treasures  in  the  library. 


PULOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  19 

There  were  there,  however,  books  which  he  did  not 
consider  it  judicious  for  his  children  to  read  indis- 
criminately, and  they  were  tco  well  trained,  and  too 
dutiful,  to  indulge  stealthily  in  reading  which  they 
knew  their  father  did  not  approve  for  them.  But 
for  this  confidence  in  them,  he  would  have  excluded 
many  volumes  of  poetry  and  some  prose  works 
which  claimed  admission  to  his  library,  as  parts  of 
the  great  classic  family  of  British  standard  literature. 
His  selections  from  German,  French,  and  Italian 
authors  were  far  less  numerous  than  the  extent  of 
his  library  would  have  led  one  to  suppose.  He  did 
not  overlook  them  altogether,  but  he  preferred  the 
tone  of  English  to  that  of  foreign  literature. 

The  library  was  well  supplied  with  periodicals, 
though  here  also  judicious  care  and  economy  were 
practised.  The  current  literature  of  Great  Britain 
was  represented  in  the  American  reprints  of  the  lead- 
ing reviews,  and  Blackwood's  inimitable  magazine. 
Of  home  literature,  he  contented  himself  with  two 
or  three  leading  newspapers,  while  the  Lady's  Book 
proved  a  welcome  visitor  to  mamma's  boudoir,  and 
one  or  two  juvenile  magazines  afforded  delight  to  the 
young  people.  It  is  worthy  of  mention  here,  that  a 
generous  portion  of  the  library  was  appropriated  to 
the  children,  and  they  were  denied  no  new  book 
which  hal  sufficient  merit  to  entitle  it  to  a  place 
upon  thui  shelves.  The  modern  stories  of  Haw- 
thorne and  Mrs.  Neal  and  Abbott  Avere  found  side 


20  HARRY  S    VACATION  ;    OR, 

by  side  with  the  juvenile  books  of  Mary  Ilowitr, 
Mrs.  Barbauld,  and  Maria  Edge-worth. 

In  this  pleasant  library,  and  in  the  examination  of 
Its  various  attractions  of  books  and  prints,  the  time 
passed  swiftly  to  our  young  friends,  until  nine  o'clock, 
the  hour  for  family  worship,  arrived. 

Then,  at  the  summons  of  a  bell,  the  servants  came 
into  the  library  and  took  the  places  assigned  to  them. 
Dr.  Sinclair  read  a  portion  of  the  sacred  volume, 
after  which  he  offered  brief  but  fervent  thanksgiving 
and  prayer  to  our  Heavenly  Father — thanksgiving 
for  past  mercies,  and  prayer  for  a  continuance  of 
them.  Herbert  Eussel  had  ever  been  accustomed 
to  such  devotional  acts  in  his  own  Christian  home, 
and  he  felt  a  glow  of  pleasure  at  his  heart — for 
which,  perhaps,  he  could  have  given  no  particular 
reason — when  he  found  that  he  was  still  to  enjoy  the 
household  worship  he  had  been  taught  to  regard  of 
so  much  importance. 

After  prayers,  the  family  party  separated  for  the 
night,  earlier  than  usual,  in  order  that  our  young 
travellers  might  have  the  rest  which  Mrs.  Sinclair 
insisted  they  must  stand  in  need  of. 

It  will  hardly  be  supposed  that  Herbert  went  to 
sleep  immediately  after  his  head  rested  upon  his  pil- 
low. He  was  gratified  to  be  permitted  to  share  the 
room  of  his  friend,  and  they  talked  eagerly  for  at 
least  an  hour  after  they  retired.  When  Harry  at 
length  fell  asleep,  Herbert  continued  wakeful  from 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  21 

excitement ;  and  although  he  closed  his  eyes,  he  saw 
over  again  the  pleasant  sights  of  the  afternoon  and 
evening.  He  looked  forward,  too,  in  his  wakeful 
dreams,  to  the  delight  in  store  for  him  during  his 
winter's  vacation.  He  filled  whole  sheets  of  paper, 
in  his  active  imagination,  with  glowing  letters  to  his 
beloved  parents — describing  the  beauty  of  Beech- 
wood,  and  more  particularly  of  his  school-fellow's 
sister,  the  lovely  Alice  Sinclair. 

It  was  while  he  was  drawing  her  portrait  that  he 
actually  fell  asleep,  and  he  did  not  tell  Alice,  the 
next  day,  that  he  dreamed  that  he  was  a  famous  art- 
ist, and  that  he  was  sought  after  by  the  most  distin- 
guished people  in  the  land,  to  paint  their  portraits ; 
but  that  every  body  was  surprised  to  find  that  his 
female  portraits  were  all  alike — yet  every  sitter  waa 
satisfied,  because  the  pictixe  was  so  very  beautiful. 


CHAPTER    II. 

Getting  up  Late — Dr.  Sinclair's  Plan— Jack  Frost's  Expl  >its— The 
Ice-bottle — Crystallized  Breath — Breakfast  Conversation — Fan- 
ny's Exp-jriment — Alice's  Explanation — Heat  and  Cold — Frost- 
burn. 

THE  morning  after  the  arrival  of  the  school-fellows 
at  Beechwood  was  clear  and  frosty,  and  the  temp- 
tation to  lie  in  bed  was  too  strong  to  be  resisted  by 
them ;  for  they  were  not  a  little  wearied  with  the 
travel  and  excitement  of  the  previous  day,  notwith- 
standing their  protestations  of  the  night  before  that 
they  did  not  feel  the  least  bit  tired. 

It  was,  therefore,  eight  o'clock  before  the  family 
was  collected  in  the  library  for  prayers,  with  which 
the  day  was  commenced,  as  well  as  closed,  in  the 
happy  home  of  Harry  Sinclair.  When  the  pleasant 
exerc'ses  of  devotion  were  ended,  and  while  the 
fam:,y  was  awaiting  the  summons  to  the  breakfast- 
room — the  younger  members  of  it  and  their  guest 
being  eagerly  engaged  in  planning  amusements  for 
the  day,  and  indeed  for  days  before  them — Dr.  Sin- 
clair lifted  up  his  eyes  from  the  book  he  was  reading, 
and  addressed  them  as  follows : 

"  Now,  my  children,  I  ha^  e  something  to  suggest 
to  you  that  may  possibly  contribute  to  your  pleasure 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  23 

during  the  holidays — which  I  am  anxious  shall  be  as 
delightful  as  your  most  sanguine  anticipations." 

"  What  is  it,  papa  ?"  said  two  or  three  eager  voices 
in  a  breath. 

"  It  is  this,"  he  replied :  "  I  propose  that  we  occupy 
a  portion  of  every  day  in  scientific  amusements, 
which,  I  think,  may  be  made  as  charming  as  they 
will  be  novel." 

The  young  people  had  most  of  them  some  idea  of 
what  these  amusements  were,  for  their  father  had 
often  gratified  them  by  simple  philosophical  experi- 
ments, and  they  were  therefore  prepared  to  listen  to 
the  proposal  with  interest. 

"  I  wish,"  continued  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  to  make  these 
amusements  as  natural  as  possible,  and  I  think  we 
may  rind  most  pleasure  in  converting  the  little  inci- 
dents of  life  into  lessons  of  wisdom.  In  other  words, 
we  may  find  philosophy  in  play,  and  science  in  the 
simplest  events  which  happen  to  us.  What  say  you, 
Herbert?  What  say  you,  Harry?  And  you,  my 
daughters— are  you  pleased  with  my  plan?" 

Every  one  expressed  delight  with  the  suggestion ; 
and  little  Fanny,  springing  from  her  chair  to  papa's 
side,  exclaimed  with  child-like  eagerness : 

"  When  will  you  begin,  papa  ?" 

"At  any  time,  Fanny — now,  if  you  wili  give  me  a 
subject." 

The  little  girl  shook  her  head,  till  the  bright  curls 
fell  over  her  rosy  face,  and  made  her  quite  a  picture 


24  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

of  beauty.  She  then  ran  laughing  away  to  the 
dow,  in  the  tower,  that  looked  out  into  the  garden, 
and  found  the  glass  covered  with  a  pure  white  crust, 
that  sparkled  very  much,  and  presented  a  great  vari  • 
ety  of  beautiful  and  fanciful  shapes.  She  had  seen 
this,  however,  so  many  times  before,  that,  without 
thinking  at  all  about  it,  she  put  her  rosy  little  mouth 
against  the  cold  glass,  and,  breathing  warmly,  melted 
away  some  of  the  frosty  deposit.  She  then  peeped 
through  the  clear  glass,  and  rejoiced  to  see  the  earth 
bright  with  sunshine. 

Her  father,  who  had  resumed  his  book,  and  hap- 
pened to  look  up  from  it  for  a  moment,  observed  her 
at  the  window,  removing  the  coat  of  ice  from  the 
panes ;  and  it  immediately  occurred  to  him  that  this 
would  be  a  suitable  incident  with  which  to  begin  the 
very  plan  he  had  proposed.  So  he  called  Fanny ; 
and  the  little  girl,  bounding  gleefully  to  his  side,  he 
said  to  her : 

"What  is  it,  my  little  girl,  that  so  completely 
covers  the  window-panes  this  morning  ?" 

Little  Fanny  was  puzzled  what  to  answer;  but 
presently,  with  a  sweet  little  blush  upon  her  cheeks, 
she  said : 

"  I  think  it  is  Jack  Frost,  papa." 

At  this  reply,  Alice  and  Mary,  and  both  the  boya 
laughed  heartily ;  and  Dr.  Sinclair  joined  them,  but 
he  immediately  said : 

"True,  my  little  pet,  it  is  Jack  Frost;  or,  at  all 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    Hl>rJE.  25 

events,  it  is  all  his  doings ;  and  I  should  like  Alice  to 
repeat  the  beautiful  verses  of  Miss  Hannah  Gould,  in 
which  she  describes  the  proceedings  of  the  said  Jack 
Frost.  Can  you  not  do  so,  my  daughter  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir,"  replied  Alice,  "  I  think  I  can ;"  and  sho 
immediately  recited  the  following  lines  in  a  clear, 
sweet  voice : 

"He  went  to  the  windows  of  those  who  slept, 
And  over  each  pane  like  a  fairy  crept ; 
"Wherever  he  breathed,  wherever  he  stept, 

By  the  light  of  the  moon  were  seen 
Most  beautiful  things.     There  were  flowers  and  trees; 
There  were  bevies  of  birds,  and  swarms  of  bees ; 
There  were  cities,  thrones,  temples,  and  towers — and  these 

All  pictured  in  silver  sheen!" 

"  That,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  was  quite  unexception- 
able conduct  in  Mr.  Jack  Frost ;  but,  if  I  mistake 
not,  Alice,  Miss  Gould  attributes  some  mischief  to 
him,  which  I  hope  he  has  not  repeated  here  during 
the  night." 

"  What  was  the  mischief,  Ally1?"  said  her  brother. 
"  Do  tell  us." 

Alice  lesumed  her  recitation 

"  But  he  did  one  tiling  that  was  hardly  fair : 
He  went  to  the  cupboard,  and  finding  there 
That  all  had  forgotten  for  him  to  prepare — 
'  Now  just  to  set  them  a-thinking, 


26  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OB, 

I'll  bite  this  basket  of  fruit,'  said  he ; 
4  This  bloated  pitcher  I'll  burst  in  three ; 
And  the  glass  of  water  not  left  for  me, 
Shall  tell  them  what  I  am  drinking  I'  " 

"  No,  that  was  hardly  fair,"  said  Harry,  "  I  con 
fess.  111  go  and  see  if  he  has  served  us  the  same 
shabby  trick ;"  and  the  young  lad  bounded  out  of 
the  library.  In  a  few  moments  he  came  running 
back,  and  in  his  hands  ho  bore  a  lump  of  clear  ice  in 
the  shape  of  a  wine-bottle,  with  a  cork  frozen  fast  to 
the  top  of  the  neck. 

"See!"  he  exclaimed,  "Jack  Frost  has  actually 
been  at  his  mischievous  tricks  in  the  kitchen.  I  left, 
a  bottle  full  of  water  last  night,  just  out  of  the  kitchen- 
window  where  I  was  washing  it.  I  put  the  cork  in 
it,  and  forgot  all  about  it ;  and  now  it  is  broken  all 
to  pieces,  and  this  ice-bottle  stood  up  in  its  place." 

"This  is  certainly  quite  a  singular  coincidence," 
said  Dr.  Sinclair ;  "  but  if  I  had  known  that  you  had 
left  the  bottle  out  of  doors,  and  full  of  water,  I  could 
have  told  you  that  you  would  find  it  changed  into  a 
bottle  of  ice  this  morning." 

"  But  one  thing  at  a  time,"  he  resumed.  "  Put  the 
ice-bottle  out  of  doors,  Harry ;  it  won't  melt  in  an 
hour ;  and  meanwhile  I  want  to  know,  more  particu- 
larly than  Fanny  has  told  us,  what  it  is  that  we  sec 
upon  the  windows,  on  frosty  mornings  like  this. 
Can  you  tell,  Harry  ?" 

"  I  thought  it  was  frost,  sir.    Did  you  not  say  so  T' 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  27 

"  I  did ;  but  what  is  it  that  is  frozen  ?" 

Harry  was  at  fault ;  but  Alice  came  to  his  help 
by  asking — "  Is  it  not  our  breath,  papa,  that  settles 
on  the  cold  glass,  and  freezes  ?" 

"  Precisely,  my  dear ;  it  is  the  human  breath — or 
rather  the  moisture  which  it  holds — rendered  visible 
by  a  very  curious  and  beautiful  process  called  crys- 
tallization. Would  you  all  like  to  know  something 
about  this  process  ?"  he  added,  looking  at  the  group 
now  gathered  about  him. 

Their  eager  response  of  "  Yes,  sir ;  oh !  yes,  indeed 
we  should !"  chimed  in  with  the  musical  tones  of  the 
breakfast-bell,  which  rang  out,  at  that  moment,  its 
welcome  invitation  to  the  hot  rolls,  the  fresh  eggs, 
and  the  piping  buckwheat  cakes,  which  graced  the 
table  that  morning. 

During  the  meal  a  lively  conversation,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  heat  and  cold,  was  kept  up.  Dr.  Sinclair 
asked  Harry  why  he  poured  his  coffee  into  his  sau 
cer. 

"  To  cool  it,  of  course,  papa,"  was  his  quick  reply. 

"  But  how  does  that  cool  it,  my  son  ?" 

Harry  was  less  ready  with  an  answer  to  the  latter 
question,  and  his  father  turned  to  Alice  for  a  reply. 

"I  suppose  it  is  cooled  by  being  spread  over  a 
larger  surface,"  she  said  after  a  moment's  hesitation. 

"  Exactly,  my  daughter ;  the  heat  which  the  cof- 
fee contains  is  carried  off  more  rapidly  by  the  atmos- 
phere— the  particles  of  which,  in  contact  with  the 


28  HARRY'S  VACATION*  ;  OR, 

hot  liquid,  abstract  a  portion  of  the  heat,  and  then 
rise  to  be  succeeded  by  cold  particles  which  in  tarn 
become  heated.  In  this  way  the  heat  of  the  coffee  is 
rapidly  diminished." 

Here  Mrs.  Sinclair  called  the  attention  of  the  little 
inquirers  by  directing  Fanny  to  put  her  finger  upon 
the  silver  urn,  in  which  the  coffee  was  kept  hot,  by 
means  of  a  spirit-lamp  burning  beneath  it.  The  little 
girl  placed  her  finger  upon  it,  as  her  mamma  direct- 
ed, but  instantly  withdrew  it  with  a  slight  exclama- 
tion. 

"  What  is  the  matter,  Fan  ?"  said  her  papa. 

"  It  burnt  me,  papa." 

"  Well  now,  Fanny,"  said  her  mamma,  "  put  your 
finger  upon  the  ivory  handle  of  the  faucet,"  pointing 
to  it  as  she  spoke. 

The  little  girl  obeyed  with  a  slight  degree  of  hesi- 
tation in  her  manner.  She,  however,  did  not  imme- 
diately withdraw  her  hand,  as  she  did  when  she 
touched  the  metallic  part  of  the  urn ;  and  she  looked 
up  to  her  mamma  with  an  expression  of  wonder  that 
1  think  was  shared  by  some  of  the  others. 

"There,  Alice,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair,  "Fanny  has 
illustrated  a  very  important  fact  in  relation  to  heat, 
Do  you  know  what  it  is1? ' 

"Thanks  to  Mrs.  Marcet,  r.iamma,  I  think  I  do. 
Is  it  not  this :  that  some  substances  conduct  heal 
much  better  than  others  ?  The  silver  is  a  good  con 
ductor,  and  lets  the  heat  of  the  coffee  pass  through  it 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  29 

freely.  The  ivory  is  a  poor  conductor,  and  so  it  is 
made  use  of  instead  of  a  silver  handle." 

Mrs.  Sinclair's  approving  smile,  and  her  father's 
spoken  commendation,  rewarded  Alice  well  for  her 
correct  explanation  of  what  puzzled  Fanny ;  and 
greatly  increased  Herbert's  admiration  of  his  school- 
fellow's lovely  and  intelligent  sister. 

"  But  Alice  said  just  now,"  resumed  Dr.  Sinclair, 
" '  that  some  substances  conduct  heat  much  better 
than  others.'  Suppose  the  urn  were  filled  with  iced 
water,  instead  of  coffee,  and  Fanny  were  to  put  her 
finger  upon  the  silver,  as  she  did  just  now,  would  it 
burn  her?" 

"  No,  papa ;"  said  Mary,  venturing,  in  spite  of  her 
bashfulness,  to  answer  so  simple  a  question  as  that. 

"And  yet  I  think  Fanny  would  start  and  draw  her 
finger  away  very  suddenly,"  continued  he. 

"  Yes,  papa,  perhaps  I  would ;  but  that  would  be 
because  it  would  freeze  my  finger." 

"  Then  the  silver  must  be  regarded  as  a  good  con- 
ductor of  cold,  as  well  as  of  heat.  What  say  you, 
Alice?" 

"  So  it  would  seem,"  she  replied  with  some  hesi- 
tancy. 

"  Did  Mrs.  Marcet  teach  you  that,  my  daughter  ?" 

"  I  do  not  clearly  recollect,  papa ;  but  I  think  that 
it  is  wrong  to  say  that  either  heat  or  cold  is  COP- 
riucted." 

"Why  not  heat,  Alice?" 


30  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"Because,"  she  replied,  after  a  few  moments* 
thoughtfulness,  "  heat  and  cold  are  two  opposite  con 
ditions  of  bodies,  and  not  substances  themselves." 

"  Thank  you,  Alice,"  said  her  father.  "  I  see  you 
are  well  informed  upon  this  interesting  subject.  1 
must,  however,  tell  our  young  friend  Herbert  that 
you  have  studied  chemistry  and  philosophy,  both, 
with  Miss  Maurice — so  that  he  need  not  be  quite 
astonished  out  of  his  own  thoughts,  by  your  cor- 
rect knowledge  of  what  I  presume  he  has  never 
studied." 

Alice  blushed  violently,  and  Herbert  looked  a 
little  confused — effects  which  Dr.  Sinclair  did  not 
intend  to  produce ;  so  he  hastened  to  relieve  them 
both  by  saying : 

"  But  if  heat  and  cold  are  conditions  merely,  what 
is  the  cause  of  these  conditions  1  Tell  us  that,  my 
daughter,  and  then  we  shall  be  able  to  set  the  matter 
right  before  Fanny's  sparkling  eyes." 

"The  cause  is  a  principle  called  Caloric"  said 
Alice.  "  When  there  is  more  than  a  natural  share 
of  this  principle  in  any  thing,  it  is  said  to  be  hot ; 
and  when  there  is  less  than  a  natural  share,  it  is  said 
to  be  cold." 

"  Then,"  continued  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  it  is  the  caloric 
which  is  conducted  by  the  metallic  urn — whether  it 
be  filled  with  hot  coffee  or  with  iced  water — is  it  f ' 

"How  can  that  be?"  said  Harry,  always  eager, 
and  often  jumping  at  wrong  conclusions.  "  If  the  ura 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  31 

is  filled  with  ice,  there  must  be  less — less — what  did 
Ally  call  it?" 

"  Caloric,  Harry." 

"  Yes,  caloric — less  caloric  there  than  there  ought 
to  be ;  and  how  could  the  silver  conduct  any  away 
to  the  hand  1" 

"  Harry  is  in  a  sad  dilemma,  truly,"  said  hia 
father ;  "  help  him  out,  Herbert." 

"  I  don't  think  I  can,  sir.  I  am  in  just  the  same 
fix  myself." 

"  Then  there's  a  pair  of  you — par  nobile  fratrum, 
as  my  friend,  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  would  say,  if  he  were 
here." 

"Who  is  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  papa?"  said  Harry. 
"As  to  his  Latin,  I  can  translate  that  myself— 
'  a  noble  pair  of  brothers.'  That's  you  and  I,  Her 
bertP 

"  You  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  making  Mr.  Old 
buckle's  acquaintance  at  dinner-time,  if  you  will  con 
trive  to  get  out  of  your  dilemma  by  any  means." 

"  Oh !  who  will  help  me  ?"  said  Harry,  in  mock 
tones  of  distress.  "  Can't  you,  my  dear,  darling  sis 
ter,  by  the  aid  of  Mrs.  Marquette  1" 

"  Mrs.  Marcel,"  said  Alice,  laughing,  "  condescends 
to  have  compassion  on  you,  Harry,  and  bids  me  tell 
vou  that  when  the  urn  is  full  of  ice.  the  caloric  does 
not  go  from  the  urn  to  the  hand,  but  from  the  hand 
to  the  urn." 

"  Then  the  hand  burns  the  urn — is  that  it !" 


32  HARRY  S    VACATION  ;    OH, 

Alice  did  not  seem  quite  ready  to  reply  to  this 
puzzling  question. 

"  It  would  be  so,  if  the  urn  could  feel,"  said  hei 
father.  "As  it  is,  the  caloric  passes  to  the  cold  urn, 
and  makes  that  warmer  in  the  degree  in  which  the 
hand  becomes  cold.  Did  you  never  hear  of  any 
body's  being  burned  by  frost  ?" 

"  No,"  said  Harry,  "  that  I  'm  sure  1  never  did !" 

"  Oh !  Dr.  Sinclair,"  said  Herbert,  "  I  think  I  know 
what  you  mean.  I  knew  a  boy,  in  the  city,  who  put 
his  tongue  against  a  brass  door-knob,  one  very  cold 
morning,  and  it  blistered  his  tongue  white,  and  the 
skin  peeled  off.  The  doctor  dressed  it  just  as  he 
would  have  dressed  a  bum." 

"  It  was  a  burn,  Herbert — a  frost-burn,  to  be  sure , 
but  as  much  a  burn  as  if  it  had  been  made  by  his 
attempting  to  bite  an  inch  off  a  red-hot  poker — that 
difficult  feat  so  often  proposed  in  the  game  of  for 
feits." 

The  young  people  all  laughed  merrily,  and  Harry 
exclaimed : 

"  Well,  that  beats  me." 

"Yes,"  said  his  father;  "let  me  play  Mr.  Old 
buckle's  part  once  more,  and  say  to  you,  as  he  would 
probably  have  done : 

" '  There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  Horatio, 
Than  are  dreamt  of  in  thy  philosophy!' 

But  to  clear  up  this  philosophy  of  heat  and  cold  a 


J>HILOSOHPY   AT   HOME.  S3 

little  more,"  he  resumed :  "  when  the  hand  is  burned 
by  contact  with  heated  metal,  it  is  by  receiving  an 
excess  of  caloric ;  and  when  it  is  burned  by  contact 
with  a  piece  of  exceedingly  cold  metal,  it  is  by  sud- 
denly losing  a  large  quantity  of  caloric.  Do  you 
understand  the  subject,  Harry  ?" 

"  I  think  I  do,  sir,"  he  replied ;  "  though  it  seems 
to  me  exceedingly  queer  that  heat  and  cold  should 
both  burn  alike !" 

"You  should  not  forget,"  said  his  father,  "what 
Alice  said  just  now — that  heat  and  cold  are  only 
conditions,  of  which  caloric  is  the  cause.  But  this  is 
quite  too  extensive  a  subject  to  be  exhausted  at  the 
breakfast-table." 

With  this  remark  he  rose,  and  all  the  party  fol 
lowed  his  example. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Microscope — Frost-work — Stars  and  Diamonds — A  Fluid 
Globe — Why  the  Frost-Crystals  Disappeared — The  Ice-Bottle 
Arraigned — Its  Defence — A  Wonderful  Exception — The  Lead 
Tree — Affinity  Illustrated. 

FROM  the  breakfast-room  our  young  philosophers 
proceeded  to  the  library,  reminding  Dr.  Sinclair 
of  his  proposal  to  explain  to  them  the  nature  of  the 
frozen  breath  upon  the  window-panes.  He  expressed 
his  willingness  to  do  so  at  once,  and  took,  from  a 
very  neat  mahogany  box,  a  beautiful  brass  instru- 
ment, which,  he  told  them,  was  a  microscope,  and 
asked  Herbert  if  he  knew  the  meaning  of  the  word. 

I  rather  think  our  young  friend  was  a  little  proud 
as  he  replied,  immediately,  that  he  did.  Herbert  was 
a  good  scholar,  and  he  had  recently  studied  etymolo- 
gy— the  science  which  teaches  the  origin  of  words. 
Without  any  difficulty,  therefore,  he  replied  to  Dr. 
Sinclair's  question : 

"  It  means  an  instrument  with  which  to  see  very 
small  objects ;  and  is  from  two  Greek  words — 
mikros,  small ;  and  skopeo,  to  see." 

"Quite  correct,"  said  the  Doctor.  "And  now. 
Harry,  do  you  go  and  scrape  from  the  window-panes 
some  of  the  frost-work  which  we  were  talking  about 


PHltOSOPHT   AT   HOME.  35 

before  breakfast,  so  that  we  may  look  at  it  through 
the  microscope." 

"  Why,  papa,"  said  Harry,  "  it  has  nearly  all  dis- 
appeared while  we  were  at  breakfast !" 

"  True  enough ;  so  you  must  go  up  into  one  of  the 
chambers  where  there  is  no  fire  to  warm  the  room." 

"  Shall  we  see  it  through  the  mighty-scope,  papa '?" 
said  Fanny. 

"  Not  *  mighty-scope,'  Fanny,"  said  Alice,  laughing 
merrily  at  her  little  sister's  mistake ;  but  her  father 
immediately  said : 

"  Fanny  is  not  so  far  wrong  after  all,  Alice ;  for  it 
may  well  be  called  a  '  mighty-scope1  when  we  consider 
what  a  vast  and  wonderful  range  of  observation  it 
affords  us." 

Harry  now  brought  the  frost  which  he  had  gathered 
from  the  windows  of  his  own  room ;  and  his  father, 
having  adjusted  the  microscope  upon  a  small  table  in 
the  recess,  which  I  have  already  described,  took  the 
crystals,  and  spread  them  out  thinly  upon  a  sheet  of 
black  glazed  paper.  This  he  placed  beneath  the 
magnifying  lens  of  the  instrument,  and  called  upon 
the  young  people,  one  by  one,  to  examine  the  minute 
particles  which  lay  upon  the  paper. 

"  Oh !"  exclaimed  Alice,  "  how  fairy-like  they  are ! 
Stars  and  diamonds  of  all  sizes,  and  glittering  just 
like  real  gems !  Is  it  possible,  dear  papa,  that  these 
are  only  particles  of  frost  ?" 

"They  are  minute  but  perfect  crystals  of  ice,'' 


80  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

replied  Dr.  Sinclair,  as  Mary  succeeded  Alice  in 
their  inspection,  She,  too,  was  delighted,  and  so 
far  forgot  her  timidity  as  to  ask  her  father  if  he 
had  done  nothing  to  them  to  make  them  so  beauti- 
ful. 

"Nothing,  Mary,  I  assure  you,  but  to  magnify 
them." 

Herbert  and  Harry  both  pronounced  the  sight 
exceedingly  beautiful,  and  expressed  their  wonder 
that  any  thing  so  small  could  be  of  such  perfect, 
forms.  Fanny,  too,  was  delighted  in  her  own  way 
with  what  she  saw  through  the  "  mighty-scope." 

"  Every  flake  of  snow  which  falls,"  continued  Dr. 
Sinclair,  "  is  composed  of  scarcely  perceptible  crys- 
tals, each  perfect  in  its  structure  as  the  beautiful 
gems  of  the  mine,  all  which  have  been  like  these  ice- 
crystals,  in  a  fluid  state  at  some  period." 

"  What,  papa,"  said  Alice,  "  diamonds  and  rubies 
once  in  a  fluid  state !" 

"  Yes,  my  dear,  the  hardest  flint  and  the  most  solid 
rock  which  exist,  were  both  fluid  once.  Indeed,  all 
the  solid  earth  has  cooled  down,  in  the  course  of 
many  ages,  from  a  fiery  mass  of  fluid." 

The  young  people  expressed  their  wonder,  if  not 
their  incredulity,  in  their  eyes;  and  Dr.  Sinclair 
added : 

"  But  I  will  not  extend  these  lessons  beyond  sucb 
limits  as  you  can  easily  comprehend.  I  was  going 
to  ask  you  if  any  of  you  would  take  another  look  at 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  37 

the  fairy  gems  of  the  frost-king ;  but  I  see  they  havf 
all  disappeared — proving  the  words  of  the  poet : 

'  The  fairest  things  beneath  the  sun — 
The  soonest  pass  away!' 

"Shall  I  get  some  more,  papa?"  said  Harry. 

"  No,  my  boy,  it  is  not  worth  while ;  but  perhaps 
you  can  tell  me  what  caused  them  to  disappear." 

"  Of  course  I  can,  sir.  It  was  the  heat  of  the 
room." 

"  True — as  we  are  accustomed  to  speak ;  but  not 
true,  scientifically,"  said  his  father. 

"  It  was  the — the  caloric,  then  ?" 

"  Yes ;  the  caloric  of  the  air,  being  more  abundant 
than  that  of  the  frost-crystals,  entered  into  them,  and 
raised  their  temperature  to  that  of  the  room.  Now, 
just  the  reverse  of  this  took  place  when,  last  night, 
the  moisture  in  the  warm  air  of  this  room  condensed 
first  into  water  upon  the  cold  glass — which  took  away 
so  much  caloric  from  the  drops  that  they  did  not 
retain  enough  to  remain  in  the  fluid  state,  and  so 
were  changed  into  solid  but  minute  crystals." 

"  I  see,  papa,"  said  Alice ;  "  and  so  the  condition 
of  bodies  depends  upon  the  amount  of  caloric  they 
contain." 

"  Very  well  concluded,  indeed,  my  daughter.  And 
now,  Harry,  fetch  the  ice-bottle,  and  let  us  look  at 
the  wonder  through  the  spectacles  of  science !" 

Harry   brought  in   the    frozen    contents    of   the 


38  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  on, 

exploded  bottle,  and  stood  it  in  a  plate  upon  the 
table,  saying,  with  mock  gravity  : 

"Prisoner  at  the  bar,  what  have  you  to  say  in 
reply  to  the  charge  of  breaking  my  bottle  ?" 

"  May  it  please  your  honour,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  in 
behalf  of  the  prisoner,  "  we  have  but  a  word  to  say. 
We  plead  guiity  to  the  charge ;  but  plead,  in  extenu- 
ation of  our  offence,  that  you  confined  us  in  such  nar- 
row bounds  that  when,  by  a  law  of  our  nature,  we 
expanded  from  the  loss  of  our  natural  share  of 
caloric,  there  was  not  room  within  the  glass  walls  for 
our  increased  bulk,  and  we  were  compelled  to  burst 
our  prison  bounds." 

"  Prisoner  at  the  bar,  you  shall  be  acquitted  forth- 
with," said  the  self-elected  judge,  "  if  you  can  show, 
by  your  attorney,  how  it  is  that  you  groAv  larger  by 
freezing,  instead  of  shrinking,  as  I  should  be  apt  to 
do." 

"That,  may  it  please  your  honour,"  replied  the 
ice-bottle,  by  the  mouth  of  Dr.  Sinclair,  instead  of  its 
own,  "  that  is  the  exception  to  the  law  that  bodies, 
changing  from  the  fluid  to  the  solid  state,  contract, 
and  the  only  exception  known.  This  exception  is  a 
wonderful  instance  of  the  wisdom  of  our  Creator ; 
for,  if  water  were  to  contract  in  bulk  by  becoming 
solid,  its  density  would  increase,  and  it  would  be 
heavier  when  solid  than  when  in  the  liquid  state. 
The  consequence  of  this  would  be,  that  the  ice  upon 
the  top  of  a  river  or  lake  would  sink  by  gravitation 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  39 

to  the  bottom ;  and  thus,  eventually,  the  whole  lake 
or  river  would  be  converted  into  ice,  and  all  the  heat 
of  summer  would  be  insufficient  to  melt  the  solid 
mass.  In  this  exception,  therefore,  to  a  law  of 
nature,  behold  both  the  wisdom  and  the  goodness  of 
God." 

The  answer  was  considered  sufficient.  Mr.  Bottle 
was  therefore  acquitted,  and  the  character  of  Mr. 
Jack  Frost  declared  to  be  clear  as  ice ! 

Doctor  Sinclair  now  called  the  attention  of  tho 
young  people  to  a  very  curious  and  beautiful  speci- 
men of  metallic  crystallization.  In  a  quart  bottle  of 
white  glass,  there  was  suspended,  by  a  string  from 
the  stopper,  a  large  and  brilliant  mass  which  had  evi- 
dently grown  in  the  bottle,  as  it  was  too  large  to  go 
through  the  neck.  It  resembled  a  thick  cluster  of 
vine-foliage,  with  tendrils  hanging  down  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  vessel.  When  the  children  had  admired 
it  to  their  hearts'  content,  Dr.  Sinclair  described  to 
them  the  process  by  which  it  had  been  produced,  and 
I  will  repeat  it  here,  because  every  little  reader  can 
easily  perform  the  experiment  for  himself. 

"  I  first  filled  this  bottle,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  with 
pure  water,  and  then  poured  into  it  a  tea-spoonful  of 
sugar  of  lead,  which  immediately  mixed  with  the 
water  and  gave  it  the  appearance  of  milk.  I  then 
tied  to  a  string  a  piece  of  zinc,  not  too  large  to  go 
through  the  neck  of  the  bottle,  and  suspended  it 
about  half  way  down,  forcing  in  the  stopper  so  as  to 


40  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

fasten  the  string.  In  a  few  hours,  the  milky  ftuid 
became  almost  clear,  and  the  zinc  was  covered  with 
thin  shining  crystals  of  lead,  which  multiplied  until 
they  half  filled  the  bottle,  as  you  see.  Can  any  of 
you  tell  me  where  the  lead  crystals  came  from  ?" 

Harry  and  Herbert  shook  their  heads ;  but  Alice 
modestly  replied : 

"  From  the  sugar  of  lead — did  they  not,  papa  f 

"  Yes,  my  child,"  replied  her  father,  "  the  sugar  of 
lead  is  a  substance  called  by  chemists,  acetate  of 
lead.  It  is  a  compound  of  lead  and  acetic  acid ;  and 
all  such  compounds  of  metals  with  acids  are  called 
salts.  The  bond  of  union  between  substances  thus 
united  is  called  affinity,  and  is  stronger  in  some 
instances  than  in  others.  Now,  the  lead  and  the  ace- 
tic acid  have  not  so  strong  a  friendship  for  each  other 
as  zinc  and  acetic  acid ;  hence,  when  I  put  the  piece 
of  zinc  into  the  milky  solution,  the  acid  gave  up  the 
lead  in  the  form  of  crystals  (its  native  condition)  and 
united  with  the  zinc — forming  a  new  salt,  called  ace- 
tate of  zinc,  which  is  dissolved  in  this  limpid  water. 
One  thing  more,  and  I  shall  release  you  from  what  is 
growing  to  be  a  lecture.  I  will  take  some  of  this 
liquid  in  the  bottle,  and  spread  it  upon  a  slip  of  glass, 
which  Harry  may  expose,  for  a  few  moments,  to  the 
fire,  and  meanwhile  I  will  plant  another  lead-tree, 
that  you  may  watch  its  growth  during  to-day  and 
to-morrow." 

When  this  was  done,  the  Doctor  took  the  slip  of 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  41 

glass  which  Harry  had  held  to  the  fir^,  and  directing 
the  attention  of  the  group  to  slight  delicate  crystals 
upon  its  surface — he  subjected  these  to  microscopic 
observation,  when  they  appeared  exceedingly  beau- 
tiful— of  regular  form  and  perfectly  transparent. 
These,  the  Doctor  told  them,  were  crystals  of  the 
acetate  of  zinc. 

In  this  manner  an  hour  sped  away  imperceptibly, 
and  then  Dr.  Sinclair  left  them,  to  attend  to  his  cus- 
tomary duties.  Harry  and  Herbert  sallied  out  for 
their  proposed  sport,  while  Alice  and  Mary  and 
Fanny  hastened  to  feed  the  squirrel  and  the  rabbits, 
a  duty  always  claiming  their  attention  immediately 
after  breakfast,  but  forgotten,  that  morning,  in  tho 
interest  of  their  first  lesson  in  natural  philosophy . 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Mr.  Oldbuckle—A  Rock  of  Alum— Salts— A  Disaster— Why  th« 
Dish  Fell — Gravitation— Sir  Isaac  Newton's  Discovery — Mu- 
tual Attraction  of  Bodies — An  Experiment  Proposed. 

WHEN  Dr.  Sinclair  returned  at  the  usual  dinner 
hour,  he  was  accompanied  by  a  very  remark- 
able personage,  of  whom  mention  has  been  made  in 
a  previous  chapter.  His  eccentricities  and  his  excel- 
lencies were  both  so  great,  however,  as  to  entitle  him 
to  a  more  particular  introduction  to  the  regard  of  the 
reader. 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  was  an  English  gentleman  who  had 
recently  emigrated  to  this  country,  with  his  two  sons 
and  their  families.  Many  years  a  widower,  he  was 
unwilling  to  be  left  behind  when  his  only  children 
resolved  to  leave  their  native  land,  for  homes  in  the 
New  World.  He  did  not  oppose  their  inclinations, 
for  he  was  himself  attracted  by  the  accounts  which 
lie  had  read  of  the  prosperity  of  the  States,  and  of 
the  admirable  opportunities  they  afforded  to  young 
men  for  attaining  wealth  and  distinction.  He  was 
quite  willing  to  observe,  for  himself,  an  instance  of 
national  progress  hitherto  unexampled  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  The  grand  experiment  of  popular 
government  which  was  so  successfully  commenced 


PHILOSOPHY   Al    HOME.  43 

upon  our  western  shores  interested  him  deeply. 
Not  that  he  was  a  republican  in  sentiment.  On  the 
contrary,  he  was  a  warm  and  earnest  admirer  of  the 
English  constitation  and  system,  and  passed  at  home 
for  a  thorough  tory.  He  was,  however,  a  man  of 
comprehensive  views.  He  possessed  an  enlightened 
and  iberal  judgment,  and  he  was  eager  to  acquire  in- 
formation upon  any  and  all  subjects  of  great  moment. 

He  had  accordingly  accompanied  his  sons  to  the 
United  States,  and  settled  with  the  younger  upon  a 
pretty  farm  about  two  miles  from  Beechwood.  Tho 
elder  son  had  chosen  the  city,  and  was  engaged  in 
extensive  commercial  operations. 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  was  nearly  sixty  years  of  age ;  but 
his  figure,  though  spare,  was  quite  erect  and  elastic, 
and  he  preserved  much  of  the  vigour  of  manhood. 
He  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school ;  and  when 
Dr.  Sinclair  introduced  him  to  Harry  and  Herbert — 
the  only  ones  at  Beechwood  not  already  acquainted 
with  him — our  young  friends  were  so  much  surprised 
by  his  odd  appearance,  that  they  almost-  forgot  to 
return  his  very  friendly  greeting. 

He  was  dressed  in  the  manner  peculiar  to  a  past 
generation.  His  small  clothes  were  tied  at  the  knees 
with  black  ribands,  and  below  them  he  wore  thick- 
ribbed  stockings  of  black  worsted.  In  his  shoes  were 
broad  silver  buckles,  highly  polished.  His  entire 
dress  was  of  black,  which  made  more  conspicuous  a 
white  bushy  wig  that  covered  his  head ;  and  when 


44  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

that  was  surmounted  by  a  low-crowned  hat,  with  a 
very  wide  brim,  the  worthy  old  gentleman  did — as 
Herbert  could  not  help  whispering  to  Harry — "  cut 
a  queer  figure !" 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  had  a  very  benevolent  face,  how- 
ever ;  and — what  told  quite  as  well  with  young  peo- 
ple— a  very  pleasant  voice.  As  he  was  fond  of  talk- 
ing, and  related  most  amusing  anecdotes,  he  was 
quite  a  favourite  with  the  little  folks  of  Beechwood, 
all  of  whom  welcomed  his  arrival  on  this  occasion 
with  a  warmth  of  manner  quite  agreeable  to  his  feel- 
ings. 

At  the  dinner-table,  Dr.  Sinclair  informed  his 
guest  of  the  plan  adopted  for  the  amusement  and 
instruction  of  the  young  people. 

"  It  is  a  capital  plan,  indeed,"  said  the  worthy  old 
gentleman,  "  and  I  am  pleased  to  hear  that  my  little 
friends  show  so  much  interest  in  it.  You  are  enti- 
tled, my  dear  sir,  to  great  praise  for  so  very  delight- 
ful a  method  of  instructing  your  children.  This  is 
realizing  the  poet's  idea  of  finding 

'Tongues  in  the  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  every  thing.' 

"  It  is  a  thousand  times  better,"  he  continued,  "  than 
to  be  indulging  in  mere  frivolous  and  noisy  sports, 
though  I  do  not  object,  my  dear  sir,  to  hearty  play. 
Oh !  no ;  I  approve  most  cordially  the  words  of  Dr. 
Watts . 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  45 

'  la  books,  or  work,  or  healthful  play, 

Let  my  first  years  be  past ; 

That  I  may  giro  for  every  day 

Some  good  account  at  last.' 

The  Doctor  was  not  a  little  gratified  by  the  warm 
approbation  of  his  excellent  friend,  and  immediately 
said : 

"I  think  our  young  philosophers  play  quite  as 
merrily  after  their  experiments,  as  if  they  had  not 
been  learning  useful  lessons.  What  do  you  think 
about  it,  Herbert  ?" 

M  Oh !  sir,"  he  replied  with  much  eagerness,  "  I  was 
never  more  happy  in  my  life  than  I  have  been  since 
I  came  to  Beechwood,  and  I  think  your  plan  is  per- 
fectly delightful." 

"  Well,  Master  Russel,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  now 
addressing  him  for  the  first  time  since  his  introduc- 
tion, "  so  you  and  Harry  Sinclair  are  such  very  good 
and  dear  friends,  that  you  could  not  agree  to  be  sepa- 
rated even  for  the  short  time  of  vacation  ?" 

Herbert  blushed  and  said : 

"  Harry  and  I  have  been  fast  friends  ever  since  we 
have  been  to  school  together." 

"  Well,  my  dear  boys,"  added  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  I 
hope  you  will  be  friends  all  your  lives,  and  that  both 
of  you  will  live  to  become  useful  and  distinguished 
men." 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  had  a  very  happy  way  of  putting 
e^ery  one  around  him  quite  at  ease  in  his  company. 


46  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

He  was  sure  to  find  some  method  of  securing  the 
confidence  and  regard  of  every  body.  He  over- 
looked no  one,  and  adapted  his  conversation  with 
great  tact  to  the  position  and  capacity  of  all.  He 
now  inquired  of  Alice  what  subjects  they  had  studied 
in  the  very  pleasant  manner  her  father  had  described, 
and  she  told  him  of  the  experiments  with  the  win- 
dow-frost, and  also  of  the  further  illustrations  which 
they  had  seen  of  the  beautiful  process  of  crystalliza- 
tion. 

"  Your  experiments  in  crystallization,  Alice,"  said 
Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  remind  me  of  the  magnificent  speci- 
mens of  that  process  which  I  saw  at  the  Great  Exhibi- 
tion in  London." 

"  Oh !  Mr.  Oldbuckle,"  said  Herbert,  "  were  you 
at  the  Exhibition?" 

"  Indeed  I  was,  my  young  friend,  and  I  saw  enough 
there  to  keep  me  busy  thinking  and  wondering  all 
the  rest  of  my  life,  even  though  I  should  live  to  be 
'  fourscore  years.' " 

"What  were  the  specimens  you  saw,  Mr.  Old 
buckle  ?"  said  Alice. 

"  The  most  remarkable  one  was  a  huge  column  of 
alum,  which  must  have  been  twelve  or  fifteen  feet 
high.  It  was  twenty  feet  in  circumference,  and  large 
sections  were  cut  out  of  it  to  allow  visitors  to  look 
inside  and  see  the  beautiful  crystals  of  the  salt,  many 
<if  which  were  six  inches  long." 

"Did  you  say  '  crystals  of  the  salt,'  sir  ?     I  thought 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  47 

it  was  a  mass  of  alum  you  were  speaking  of,"  said 
Harry. 

"So  it  was,  Harry — alum  and  salt  both — for 
alum  is  a  salt,  of  which  commodity,  indeed,  there  are 
a  great  many  varieties.  In  chemistry,  every  com- 
pound of  an  acid  with  a  base  is  a  salt.  It  is  not 
every  salt  that  has  a  peculiar  pungent  taste,  for  some 
kinds  have  no  taste  at  all.  Some  can  not  be  dissolved 
in  water." 

Harry  was  surprised  to  hear  of  any  other  salt 
than  that  he  was  accustomed  to  use  upon  his  food, 
though  he  was  reminded  by  Alice  that  he  knew  of 
smelling  salts. 

"And  of  Epsom  salts,  too,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair, 
laughing  at  the  wry  face  which  Harry  put  on  at  the 
bare  mention  of  them. 

"  But,"  said  Alice,  "  how  did  they  obtain  so  large 
a  mass  of  alum  ?" 

"  I  will  tell  you,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  as  briefly 
as  I  can.  Alum  is  a  double  salt ;  that  is,  it  is  sul- 
phuric acid  united  to  two  bases — alumina  and  potash. 
These  were  mixed  together  in  water,  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  fill  a  cylinder  whose  interior  diameter 
was  just  the  same  as  the  diameter  of  the  mass  of 
alum.  In  this  cylinder  the  liquid  mass  crystallized 
by  evaporation — that  is,  the  water  passed  off  in  the 
form  of  vapour,  and  the  alum  remained  in  solid  and 
shining  crystals— much  like  quartz.  The  mass  was 


48  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

then  removed  from  the  cylinder,  and  the  sections 
sawed  out  of  its  sides." 

This  account  of  the  great  alum  rock  at  the  London 
Crystal  Palace  interested  the  young  people  very 
much ;  and,  indeed,  the  servant  who  was  waiting  on 
the  table,  was  listening  to  it  rather  too  attentively 
for  his  duties,  for  he  suffered  a  dish,  which  he  was 
removing  to  a  side-table,  to  slip  through  his  fingers  to 
the  floor.  After  the  momentary  confusion  which  was 
occasioned  by  the  accident  had  ceased,  Dr.  Sinclair 
said: 

"  Here,  now,  is  one  of  the  incidents  which  we  must 
seize  and  press  into  our  service.  Even  accidents 
may  be  made  to  minister  to  our  improvement.  Can 
you  tell  me,  Harry,  why  the  dish  fell  when  it  slipped 
from  Mark's  fingers  ?" 

"  Because  it  was  heavy,  I  suppose,  sir,"  said  Harry 
with  the  air  of  one  who  has  settled  a  question. 

"  But  if  it  had  been  light,  it  would  still  have  fallen ; 
so  that  does  not  explain  it,  although  the  observa- 
tion is  true  in  itself."  Then,  turning  to  Alice,  he 
said: 

"  Have  you  not  learned  something  about  gravita- 
tion, my  daughter?" 

"  Yes,  papa,"  replied  Alice,  "  and  now  I  can  per 
ceive  that  it  must  be  the  power  of  gravitation  which 
carried  the  dish  to  the  floor." 

"  Herbert,  my  young  friend,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle, 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  49 

"can  you  tell  me  who  it  was  that  disco s'ered  thia 
power  of  which  Alice  speaks  ?" 

"  No,  sir,"  Herbert  modestly  replied. 

"  It  was  Sir  Isaac  Newton,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle ; 
"  and  the  circumstances  of  its  discovery  were  very 
singular.  That  distinguished  philosopher  was  lying 
under  an  apple-tree,  and,  observing  an  apple  fall  to 
the  ground  by  his  side,  he  was  led  to  reflect  upon 
the  cause ;  and  he  came,  after  much  pondering,  to  the 
conclusion,  that  the  apple  fell  to  the  earth  because  the 
earth  attracted  it." 

"  Does  not  the  earth  attract  all  bodies  V  said 
AJice. 

"  Yes,"  replied  her  father ;  "  and  at  the  same  time 
they  attract  the  earth ;  for  gravity,  or  gravitation,  is 
a  reciprocal  power,  and  belongs  to  every  material 
substance  in  the  universe." 

"  But,"  said  Harry,  "  I  do  not  understand  that. 
The  earth  certainly  did  not  rise  to  meet  the  apple  of 
the  great  philosopher,  or  the  unfortunate  dish  which 
slipped  out  of  Mark's  fingers." 

"  Not  too  fast,  my  son ;  you  must  reflect  that  the 
volume,  or  bulk,  of  the  earth  is  millions  of  times 
larger  than  that  of  the  substances  upon  its  surface ; 
and  therefore  its  attraction  is  vastly  greater  than 
theirs,  so  that  they  move  towards  the  earth  so  much 
Ulster  than  the  earth  moves  towards  them,  that  the 
motion  of  the  latter  is  quite  imperceptible.  The 
earth  attracts  the  sun,  but  the  attraction  of  the  sun 


50  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

for  the  earth  is  so  very  much  greater,  that  the  earth 
moves  swiftly  towards  the  sun,  and  the  latter  does 
not  seem  to  move  at  all  towards  the  earth,  while  in 
fact  it  does." 

"  I  can  understand  that,  papa,"  said  Alice,  "  and  I 
suppose  that  when  an  apple  or  a  stone  falls  towards 
the  earth,  it  must  move  faster  and  faster  as  it  gets 
nearer  to  the  surface." 

"  Excellent,  my  bird,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  you 
are  really  a  philosopher,  Alice,  and  have  not  studied 
in  vain,  I  see." 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  frequently  called  Alice  his  bird, 
because  she  was  in  the  habit  of  singing  for  him,  and 
her  voice  was  peculiarly  sweet  and  bird-like.  She 
blushed  very  deeply  at  her  old  friend's  approbation, 
and  he  continued,  addressing  Dr.  Sinclair : 

"That  remark  of  Alice's  suggests  to  me  a  very 
pleasing  experiment,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  delight- 
ful excursion  for  this  fine  afternoon.  You  know  the 
deep  well  at  the  village  ?  It  will  illustrate  our  con- 
versation, and  give  the  young  people  a  correct  notion 
of  the  velocity  of  falling  bodies,  to  measure  its  depth 
by  means  of  a  pebble." 

"  How  can  we  do  that  ?"  said  Harry,  incredu- 
lously. 

"  That  you  will  soon  find  out  by  means  of  yoin 
eyes.  '  Seeing  is  believing,'  you  know  the  old  adage, 
Harry." 

Herbert  and  Alice  expressed  their  interest  in  tho 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  51 

proposal,  while  Mary  and  Fanny  looked  theirs  with 
their  eyes. 

Mrs.  Sinclair  also  kindly  yielded  to  their  eager  re- 
quest that  she  would  make  one  of  the  party. 

"  It  will,  indeed,  increase  the  interest  of  this  beau- 
tiful and  unexpected  lesson  in  philosophy,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair,  as  he  rose  to  leave  the  table ;  "  and  we  will 
therefore  proceed  to  the  well  as  soon  as  we  can  get 
ready." 


CHAPTER    V. 

The  Walk  to  the  "Well— The  Yellow  Leaf— Gravitation  Resisted— 
The  Guinea  and  Feather  Experiment — Velocity  of  Falling 
Bodies— A  Rule— The  Deep  Well— The  Pebble  thrown  in— Tbo 
Result — Preparation  for  the  Sabbath — How  the  Day  was  Spent. 

IT  was  somewhat  more  than  a  mile  from  Beech- 
wood  to  a  pretty  village  containing  a  few  neat- 
looking  houses.  There  was  one  house,  however, 
which  far  exceeded  all  the  others  in  size  and  import- 
ance. It  stood  on  the  hill  at  the  entrance  of  the 
hamlet,  and  appeared  to  be  unoccupied  at  the  time 
of  which  we  write.  This  was  so  nearly  the  case, 
that  its  only  inmate  was  an  old  woman,  who  was 
employed  by  the  owner  to  take  care  of  the  house, 
while  the  family  was  absent  in  Europe.  Towards 
this  our  party  directed  its  course,  and  the  conversa- 
tion upon  falling  bodies  was  naturally  resumed. 

"  See,  papa,"  said  Harry,  as  a  yellow  leaf  fluttered 
from  a  tree  near  them,  and  whirled  in  the  air  with- 
out falling  at  once  to  the  ground,  "  all  bodies  do  not 
seem  to  obey  the  power  of  gravitation." 

"Ah,  my  boy,  appearances  are  often  deceitful,  and 
this  is  one  of  the  cases.  The  leaf  reaches  the  ground 
at  last." 

"Yes,"  said  Mary,  "and  here  it  is;"   and   she 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  53 

picked  up  the  yellow  leaf,  which  the  wind  had  wafted 
to  her  feet. 

Harry  was  defeated,  and  he  remained  silent ;  but 
Alice  came  to  his  help,  exclaiming 

"  Well,  surely,  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  gravitation  does 
net  act  upon  all  bodies  equally,  since  some  fall  faster 
than  others." 

"Eight  and  wrong,  both,  my  bird,"  replied  the 
idnd  old  gentleman.  "Had  an  apple  started  from 
the  branch  with  the  leaf,  the  former  would  have 
reached  the  ground  first — and  yet  the  force  of  gra- 
vity is  always  equal,  and  a  leaf  gravitates  to  the 
earth  as  fast  as  an  apple." 

"  True,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair  to  the  puzzled  look  of 
his  daughter,  "  and  I  think  you  can  suggest  the  rea 
son  why  the  leaf  falls  slower  than  the  apple,  if  you 
will  reflect  a  moment." 

Alice  did  not  immediately  reply,  and  Herbert 
modestly  inquired  if  it  was  not  owing  to  the  force  of 
the  wind. 

"  The  air,  which,  when  put  in  motion,  is  called  the 
wind,  is  indeed  the  cause  of  this  difTerence,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair.  "The  air  opposes  gravity,  and  its  resist 
ance  is  proportioned  to  the  amount  of  surface  in  a 
falling  body.  If  you  drop  a  bullet  weighing  one 
ounce  and  a  sheet  of  tin-foil  of  the  same  weight,  the 
air  will  resist  and  delay  the  fall  of  the  latter  on 
account  of  the  greater  surface  it  presents  to  its  re- 
sistance." 


54  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  Would  they  both  fall  together,  sir,  if  there  was 
no  air  to  resist  them  T' 

"  Certainly,  Herbert,  and  I  am  sure  Alice  can  con 

firm  what  I  say." 

Herbert  turned  to  his  companion,  and  she  replied : 

"  Oh !  I  recollect,  papa,  your  experiment  with  the 
tall  glass  cylinder.  You  put  a  guinea  and  a  feather 
on  a  little  platform  at  the  top  of  the  cylinder,  and 
exhausted  the  air  that  was  in  it.  Then  you  made  the 
guinea  and  feather  drop,  and  I  could  not  discern  any 
difference  at  all  in  the  time  each  one  occupied  in  fall- 
ing." 

"Correctly  stated,  my  daughter,  and  I  am  glad 
you  remember  it  so  well.  It  is  exactly  what  I  was 
going  to  tell  you,  to  explain  the  fluttering  of  the  leaf, 
while  the  apple  foils  directly  to  the  ground.  Do 
you  all  understand  it?" 

Even  little  Fanny  looked  wise,  as  the  others 
replied  in  the  affirmative  to  Dr.  Sinclair's  question. 

"  We  have  seen,  then,  that  all  bodies  are  acted 
upon  equally  by  gravitation.  Can  you  tell  me,  Alice, 
how  far  a  pebble,  or  any  solid  body,  falls  in  the  first 
second  ?" 

"  Sixteen  feet,  sir,  Mrs.  Marcet  teaches  me." 

"  That  is  right ;  and,  of  course,  sixteen  more  in  the 
next—" 

"Oh!  no,  papa,"  she  said  eagerly,  "velocity 
increases  every  second !" 

"I  acknowledge  my  error,"  replied  her  father; 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  55 

"  and  now  I  will  ask  for  the  rate  at  which  the  velo- 
city increases." 

No  one  seemed  quite  ready  with  an  answer  until 
Mr.  Oldbuckle  volunteered  to  give  one,  and  said : 

"  The  spaces  described  by  a  falling  body  increase 
as  the  squares  of  the  time  increase ;  but,"  he  added, 
"  lest  this  definition  should  puzzle  my  little  friends,  I 
will  explain  it  more  simply.  The  square  of  a  num- 
ber is  the  product  of  that  number  multiplied  by 
itself,  as  2  multiplied  by  2  gives  4,  the  square  of  2. 
Now,  then,  let  us  suppose  that  we  find  a  pebble  four 
seconds  in  reaching  the  bottom  of  a  well,  we  must 
first  find  the  square  of  the  time.  What  is  that,  my 
bird?" 

"  Sixteen  seconds,  sir." 

"  To  find  the  space  through  which  the  pebble  falls, 
we  must  multiply  the  space  of  the  first  second,  which 
is  sixteen  feet,  by  the  square  of  the  time,  which  is 
sixteen  seconds.  What  is  the  product  1" 

"  Two  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet,  sir,"  said  Her- 
oert. 

"  That 's  exactly  right,  but  I  doubt  if  our  well  will 
prove  as  deep  as  that.  We  shall  see,  however." 

By  this  time  the  party  had  reached  the  old  well  in 
the  park,  before  the  dwelling  we  have  already  spoken 
of.  The  old  housekeeper  had  readily  granted  their 
request  to  visit  it,  and  even  put  on  her  bonnet  and 
shawl  to  go  with  them.  The  well  was  covered  with 
an  antique  pentice,  and  was  built  up  of  solid  masonry 


56  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

It  was  very  deep  to  the.  eye,  and  Fanny  looked  in 
somewhat  timidly.  To  her  mother's  question  if  she 
would  like  to  go  down  in  the  bucket,  she  bravely- 
replied: 

"  I  will  go  with  you,  dear  mamma !" 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  directed  Harry  to  find  a  pebble, 
and  Mr.  Oldbuckle  took  out  his  watch  to  count  the 
time.  The  whole  party  pressed  eagerly  around  the 
well  as  Herbert  prepared  to  drop  the  pebble,  and  to 
watch  for  the  ripple  it  would  make  on  the  surface  of 
the  water. 

"Now,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  and  he  counted, 
"  one,  two,  three." 

"There,"  said  Herbert,  "it  touched  the  water." 

"Three  seconds — now  who  will  first  tell  the 
depth?"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  One  hundred  and  forty-four  feet,"  said  two  or 
three  voices  in  unison,  and  a  merry  laugh  ensued. 

"Very  good,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair;  "that  is  nine 
times  sixteen." 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  praised  the  young  philosophers 
very  much  for  their  readiness,  and  promised  fre- 
quently to  take  part  in  their  "  philosopliical  pastime," 
as  he  termed  it,  sorely  to  Fanny's  confusion,  for  she 
did  not  at  all  comprehend  his  words.  He  then  bade 
the  party  good-bye,  proposing  to  reach  his  own  home 
oy  a  short  cut  from  the  old  well.  Dr.  Sinclair  urged 
him  to  return  with  them,  but  he  declined  the  invita- 
tion. It  was  quite  dusk  when  the  family  arrived  at 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  57 

Beechwood  with  good  appetites  for  tea,  which  was 
only  waiting  their  return  to  be  served. 

Saturday  night  at  Beechwood  was  always  devoted 
to  preparation  for  the  duties  of  the  next  day.  Dr. 
Sinclair  made  it  a  point  to  interest  his  children  in  the 
study  of  the  Bible,  by  regular  Sunday  morning  les 
sons,  which  preceded  the  hour  for  the  customary 
visit  to  the  sanctuary  in  the  adjacent  village.  In  these 
lessons,  which  were  chiefly  drawn  from  the  narrative 
portions  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  it  was  his 
aim  to  delight  as  well  as  to  instruct  his  children,  and 
he  encouraged  them  to  seek  from  him,  and  from 
other  sources,  all  such  information  as  would  serve,  in 
any  way,  to  illustrate  and  improve  the  subject  of 
study.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that 
the  young  people  felt  this  exercise  to  be  a  privilege 
rather  than  a  task ;  and  when  Alice  reminded  Harry, 
after  tea,  of  the  manner  in  which  he  used  to  spend 
Saturday  evening,  and  asked  him  if  he  did  not  wish 
to  renew  his  Bible  lessons,  he  said,  with  eagerness : 

"If  Herbert  wishes  to  do  so,  I  shall  be  very  glad 
to  unite  with  you,  Alice." 

Herbert  needed  no  persuasion.  He  was  a  faithful 
Bible-class  scholar  at  home,  and  he  therefore  cheer- 
fully  seated  himself  with  his  young  friends  around  the 
great  table,  upon  which  Alice  had  laid  Bibles,  ques- 
tion-books, and  a  map  of  Palestine.  The  lesson  for 
the  next  day  was  "  The  Flight  into  Egypt,"  and  the 
young  students  spent  some  moments  in  discussing  the 


68  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

merits  of  a  picture — a  fine  steel  engraving — repre- 
senting that  event  in  the  life  of  our  Saviour. 

By  the  time  the  lesson  was  learned,  the  clock 
struck  the  hour  for  family  worship.  Mrs.  Sinclair 
took  her  seat  at  the  piano,  and  played  an  accompani- 
ment, while  all  united  in  singing  the  well-known 
hymn — 

"  Safely  through  another  week 

God  has  brought  us  on  our  way ; 
Let  us  now  a  blessing  seek, 

For  the  coming  Sabbath  day — 
Day  of  all  the  week  the  best — 
Emblem  of  eternal  rest" 

Of  the  manner  in  which  the  next  day  was  spent  by 
the  family  at  Beechwood,  I  am  happy  to  say,  with 
truth,  that  it  was  worthy  of  the  Christian  character 
professed  by  Dr.  Sinclair  and  his  excellent  wife. 
There  was  a  visible  difference  between  it  and  the 
other  days  of  the  week,  not  only  in  the  morning  wor- 
ship, at  the  village — whither  nearly  all  of  them  went, 
in  the  carriage — but  in  all  the  deportment  of  the 
household — which,  without  being  sanctimonious,  was 
subdued  and  reverent.  Loud  talking,  laughter,  light 
reading  and  the  ordinary  amusements  of  the  week, 
were  not  indulged  in  upon  that  day.  The  morning 
was  fully  occupied  with  the  Bible  lesson  and  the 
public  services  of  God's  house.  In  the  afternoon,  Dr. 
Sinclair  read  aloud  from  some  instructive,  religious 
book,  and  the  evening  was  pleasantly  occupied  with 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  59 

sacred  music.  This  latter  service  was  regarded  as 
both  a  duty  and  a  delight,  and  there  was  skill  enough 
in  the  home-circle  to  render  the  employment  a  source 
of  great  pleasure  to  Herbert,  although  he  was  not 
ible  to  take  part  in  it. 

When  Dr.  Sinclair  offered  "  the  evening  sacrifice," 
he  devoutly  thanked  God  "for  the  gift  of  singing,  by 
which  our  praises  are  both  sweetly  prompted  and 
expressed  here  below,  and  by  which  we  shall  express 
more  glorious  praises  in  the  courts  of  the  New 
Jerusalem." 

It  was  in  this  manner  and  with  this  spirit,  that  the 
Lord's  day  was  passed  at  Beechwood,  and  the  young 
people  did  not  complain  that  it  was  tedious  and 
irksome. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  Surprise— William  Sinclair— His  Welcome— Mary— A  Mother's 
Joy— Table-Talk— Evening  Amusement— Music— A  Charade- 
Play  Proposed. 

ONE  of  the  arguments  which  Harry  Sinclair  em- 
ployed,  when  urging  Herbert  to  go  with  him  to 
Beechwood,  was  that "  brother  Willie  would  be  home 
at  Christmas."  William  Sinclair  was  in  his  eighteenth 
year,  and  had  been  three  years  at  college.  His  re- 
turn for  the  Christmas  holidays  had  been  counted  on 
by  all  the  family,  but  he  was  not  expected  until 
Christmas  Eve,  and  it  wanted  yet  two  full  days  to 
that  time. 

It  was,  therefore,  with  no  small  degree  of  surprise 
that,  when  the  family  entered  the  sitting  room,  upon 
their  return  from  a  pleasant  walk  on  Monday  after- 
noon, they  saw  little  Fanny  suddenly  lifted  off  her 
feet,  and  folded  in  the  arms  of  "brother  Willie." 
The  little  girl  herself  was  at  first  half  frightened,  but 
her  unuttered  exclamation  of  alarm  was  changed,  in 
time,  into  one  of  delight,  as  she  threw  her  arms  about 
her  brother's  neck,  and  said,  very  eagerly : 

"  Brother  Willie's  come !  Oh !  I'm  so  happy — sc 
very  happy !" 

Harry  was  scarcely  less  eager  in  his  expressions  of 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  Cl 

delight  at  seeing  his  elder  brother.  Alice  and  Mary 
both  repaid  his  affectionate  caresses  with  looks  and 
words  of  love,  while  the  parents  of  the  youth  received 
him  with  mingled  pride  and  pleasure.  Herbert's 
eyes  involuntarily  filled  with  bright  tears  as  he  saw 
the  fond  mother  rest  her  head  upon  the  shoulder  of 
her  first-born,  and  heard  her  low,  sweet  words  of  wel- 
come to  him.  He  was  thinking  of  his  own  mother's 
tenderness,  and  how  fond  her  greeting  would  be  when 
he  went  back  to  his  own  happy  home,  which  even  the 
rare  charms  of  Beechwood  did  not  long  keep  out  of 
his  thoughts,  and  never  might  exclude  from  his  love. 

"  Well,  William,"  said  his  father,  after  the  saluta 
tions  were  over,  "  you  have  stolen  a  march  upon  us. 
What  fortunate  event  has  brought  you  home  so 
soon?" 

"The  kind  permission  of  the  President,  dear 
father,"  replied  his  son,  "  who  asked  me,  yesterday, 
in  what  way  he  should  testify  his  approbation  of  my 
conduct  during  the  term.  I  replied  that  I  should 
dearly  like  to  take  you  all  by  surprise,  by  returning 
home  to-day,  instead  of  waiting  until  Wednesday  ; 
and,  although  I  little  expected  that  he  would  grant  my 
wish,  he  immediately  said  with  a  smile — '  Ah !  Wil- 
liam, I  used  to  love  to  surprise  them  all  at  home,  and 
you  shall  have  the  coveted  opportunity.'  It  was  but 
a  brief  task  to  get  ready  for  my  journey,  and  I  left 

R this  morning,  with  the  dawn.      The  sequel 

of  the  story  you  know." 


C2  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR. 

"  But  how  did  you  get  from  the  railway  station  to 
Beechwood  1"  said  his  mother. 

"  I  walked,"  he  replied ;  "  it  was  a  pleasant  walk, 
too,  dear  mother,  for  I  was  occupied  all  the  while 
with  thoughts  of  the  great  surprise  I  should  give  you 
all.  I  believe  I  could  have  walked  twice  the  distance 
without  feeling  at  all  fatigued  at  the  time." 

"I  guess  it  would  have  tired  you  some  to  have 
walked  sixteen,  instead  of  eight  miles,"  said  Harry. 
"  Now,  /  didn't  surprise  them  by  getting  home  two 
days  before  my  time ;  but  then,  you  see,  I  had  a  car- 
riage to  come  those  eight  miles  in." 

"  Ah !  brother  Willie,"  said  Alice,  as  he  threw  his 
arm  affectionately  about  her,  "  this  is  not  the  first 
time  you  have  taken  us  unawares,  and  hereafter  I 
shall  expect  you  before  the  day  you  appoint  for  re- 
turning." 

"  Am  I  the  less  welcome,  Ally,  that  I  come  unex- 
pectedly ?" 

"Suppose  I  should  say  yes,  "Willie;  you  know 
you  wouldn't  believe  me  ;  so,  I  may  as  well  claim  to 
be  perfectly  happy,  even  as  Fan  seems  to  be." 

"  And  you,  Mary  dear,"  said  William,  turning  to 
the  still  half  invalid  sister,  whose  pale  cheek  was 
positively  flushed  with  the  delight  she  felt,  "  are  you 
perfectly  happy  to  have  brother  Willie  back  ?" 

"  Perfectly,"  said  the  young  girl,  with  an  earnest 
lone ;  for  she  loved  her  eldest  brother  with  a  fondness 
which  no  one  had  excited  in  her  gentle  heart,  save  only 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  63 

her  mother.  William  had  always  petted  her,  and  mani. 
fested  the  warmest  sympathy  for  her.  He  had  read 
stories  to  her  by  the  hour,  as  she  used  to  lie  upon  her 
low  eouch,  when  too  feeble  to  sit  up  for  several  months. 
It  was  William  who  carried  her  up  and  down  stairs, 
when  she  grew  enough  better  to  be  removed.  It  was 
he  who  half  led  and  half  carried  her  into  the  garden, 
in  the  sweet  flush  of  summer  time,  and  strove  in 
every  way  to  interest  and  amuse  her.  A  rare  and 
beautiful  tenderness  had  grown  up  in  his  heart  for 
her,  and  she  repaid  it  with  the  purest  affection  of  her 
young  and  strong  heart.  William,  therefore,  did  not 
doubt  that  Mary's  whole  soul  was  in  the  single  word 
w'th  which  she  replied  to  his  question. 

Herbert  was  listening  and  looking  on  with  deep 
attention.  He  had  not  succeeded  in  drawing  many 
words  out  of  Mary,  and  he  was  now  a  little  surprised 
to  see  her  usually  quiet  nature  evidently  aroused  into 
a  great  emotion.  She  became  in  a  moment  an 
object  of  more  interest  to  him,  and  he  felt,  perhaps, 
a  little  self-reproach  that  he  should  have  thought  her 
so  uninteresting  before.  He  had  yet  to  learn  that 
the  hearts  of  young  and  old  alike,  are  often  sealed 
caskets  which  can  only  be  unlocked  by  a  spell ! 

William  Sinclair  has  been  left  too  long  without  an 
introduction  to  the  reader.  He  was  rather  tall  of 
his  age,  and  withal  somewhat  slender.  His  counte- 
nance was  extremely  frank  and  pleasing,  with  strongly 
marked  features.  His  hair  was  thick,  and  clustered 


G4  IIAKRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

in  rich  curls  over  his  brow.  His  eyes  were  blue,  aud 
full  of  the  alternating  lights  of  tenderness  and  intelli- 
gence. His  voice  was  musical,  and  his  utterance 
quick  but  distinct.  Altogether,  he  made  a  most  favour- 
able impression  upon  Herbert  Russel,  who  was, 
by  this  time,  quite  prepared  to  take  his  part  in  the 
family  admiration  and  love  of  "  our  eldest." 

In  the  brief  interval  which  remained  before  the 
hour  for  tea,  William  went  out  to  look  at  the  familiar 
objects  he  had  left  behind  him  six  months  ago,  and  to 
shake  hands  with  Jacob  Fletcher  and  his  son  Mark. 
The  old  gardener  was  very  fond  of  William,  and 
when  he  took  the  warmly-extended  hand  of  the  young 
man,  there  came  a  sudden  moisture  into  his  old  eyes, 
and  there  was  a  perceptible  tremour  in  his  tones  as  ho 
said : 

"  I  thank  God,  Mr.  William,  that  you  have  come 
back." 

Herbert  was  delighted  to  see  that  William's 
interest  in  the  pony,  the  pet  deer,  and  the  rabbits 
was  not  a  bit  less  than  that  he,  himself,  had  felt  in 
them,  as  perfect  novelties  ;  and  he  thought  how  much 
more  delighted  he  should  be  to  see  his  own  favourite 
dog,  when  he  returned,  than  he  had  ever  been  before. 

Mrs.  Sinclair  allowed  her  maternal  delight  in  her 
first-born,  to  manifest  itself  in  various  ways.  Even 
the  tea-table  seemed  to  testify  her  fresh-awakened  joy, 
for  its  wonted  profusion  was  surpassed  upon  this  oc- 
casion ;  and  delicacies  were  multiplied  with  a  bounty 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  55 

which  seemed  to  recognize  this  as  the  crowning  op 
portunity  for  their  bestowal. 

The  conversation  at  the  table  turned  upon  Wil 
lianvs  progress  at  college,  and  the  chief  incidents  in 
his  last  term's  experience  there.  His  father  listened, 
with  great  interest,  to  his  account  of  his  studies  and 
exercises.  Besides  his  early  liberation  from  college 
duties,  he  had  brought  from  the  President  of  the  col- 
lege, a  letter  in  further  token  of  his  excellent  deport- 
ment and  scholarship.  He  had  returned  laden  with 
honours,  to  a  home  and  to  hearts,  that  would  now 
overlay  them  with  the  brighter  and  purer  gold  of  un- 
selfish love.  There  was  pleasure  in  every  eye  that 
beamed,  and  delight  in  every  bosom  that  beat  around 
the  pleasant  tea-table  that  evening. 

"  I  am  glad  you  have  been  studying  natural  philo- 
sophy, during  the  past  term,  William,"  said  his  father. 

"Why  so,  sir?" 

"Because  we  have  all  turned  philosophers,  at 
Beechwood — Alice,  and  Harry,  and  Herbert,  and 
even  Mary  and  little  Fan,  are  all  experimental  philos- 
ophers." 

"  How  is  this,  Alice  ?"  said  her  brother. 

"  Oh !"  she  replied  gaily, "  we  have  charming  times, 
brother  Willie,  in  seeking  instruction  from  our  sports, 
and  from  every  thing  that  happens." 

"  If  you  do  that,"  said  her  brother,  "  you  are  philo- 
sophers,  indeed.  But  explain  to  me  exactly  what  you 
mean." 


66  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR. 

"  Papa  will  tell  you,  as  he  is  our  president,"  was 
Alice's  reply. 

Dr.  Sinclair  informed  his  son  of  the  plan  he  had 
suggested  for  making  the  amusements  of  the  young 
people  minister  to  their  instruction.  William  Sin- 
clair entered  with  great  eagerness  into  the  plan,  and 
promised  that  he  would  do  all  in  his  power  to  add  to 
the  common  stock  of  pleasure  during  his  visit,  which 
was  to  last  until  New  Year's,  and  it  lacked,  now,  two 
days  of  Christmas. 

"  Brother  Willie,"  said  Alice,  "  I  hope  you  will  like 
Mr.  Oldbuckle  as  much  as  I  do." 

"  Who  is  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  and  how  much  do  you 
like  him,  Ally  ?"  was  her  brother's  laughing  reply. 

"  Oh !  I  forgot  that  we  had  not  told  you  about  him. 
Well,  then,  he  is  a  neighbour  of  ours,  recently  from 
England ;  and  he  is  such  a  delightful  old  gentleman, 
you  can't  think.  He  looks  very  queer,  but  he  is 
very  kind-hearted,  and  takes  as  much  interest  in  all 
our  amusements  as  we  do.  I  like  him  very,  very 
much,  and  you  must  like  him  too/' 

"I  think  it  likely  I  shall,  if  all  you  say  of  him  is 
true.  When  shall  I  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  ?" 

"  To-morrow ;  he  comes  almost  every  afternoon  to 
have  a  chat  with  papa,  who  thinks  a  great  deal  of 
him." 

Dr.  Sinclair  acknowledged  the  truth  of  his  daugh 
ter's  testimony,  and  gave  William  some  further 
information  about  their  agreeable  friend. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOMK.  67 

"  What  shall  we  do  to-night  1"  said  Harry,  as  the 
family  adjourned  from  the  dining-room  to  the 
library. 

"  You  shall  have  the  ordering  of  the  '  exercises,'  to- 
night, brother  Willie,  in  honour  of  your  return,"  said 
Alice,  laughing. 

"  Well,"  said  her  brother,  "  if  the  rest  are  agreed 
with  Alice,  I  will  accept  the  appointment  of  master 
of  ceremonies." 

"  All  agreed,  I  know,  without  counting  noses,"  sud 
Harry. 

"First,  then,"  said  the  newly-elected  master  of 
ceremonies,  "  we  will  have  music  on  the  piano-forte, 
by  Miss  Alice  Sinclair." 

"  Now,  brother  Willie,"  said  Alice,  laughing, "  that 
is  a  poor  return  for  the  honour  I  had  conferred  upon 
you," 

"  How  so,  sister  mine  1  have  I,  or  have  I  not  a 
right  to  gratify  my  own  wishes,  in  ordering  the 
'  exercises'  of  the  evening?  If  yea,  then  do  I  declare 
that  it  will  afford  me  real  pleasure  to  listen  to  the  pro- 
posed musical  inauguration." 

"  If  my  poor  performance  can  give  you  the  least 
pleasure,  dear  brother,"  replied  Alice,  "I  will  play 
without  a  word  of  apology." 

"  Spoken  like  my  own  Alice,"  he  returned,  '  \vho 
I  hope  will  never  hesitate  to  play,  when  she  is  asked 
in  sincerity  to  do  so." 

Alice  went  immediately  to  the  instrument,  which 


0$  HJUUCYS  VACATION;  OK, 

her  brother  opened  fi>r  her,  and  played  sock  pieces  as 
were  called  for  by  him,  it'  she  knew  them  well  enough 
to  play  without  mistakes.  Her  musical  education 
lad  not  been  severe,  but  still,  die  had  been  well 
taught,  and  bad  formed  a  Terr  correct  and  spirited 
style.  Her  manner  at  the  instrument  was  setfpos- 
sessed  and  quiet,  and  her  fingering  full  of  grace. 
Her  brother  complimented  her  highly  upon  her  pro- 
gress in  the  instrumental  part  of  music,  and  then 
challenged  her  to  a  specimen  of  her  skill  in  vocal 
music.  Alice  was  a  good  singer;  to  a  really  sweet 
voke  of  moderate  compass,  she  added  a  careful  arti- 
eolation  of  her  words,  a  due  regard  to  emphasis,  and  a 
nice  taste  in  the  adaptation  of  her  Toice  to  the  senti- 
ment of  tlie  words  she  sung.  AH  these  exeefleneiea 
were  doe,  in  part,  to  the  careful  training  she  had  re- 
ceived from  Miss  Maurice;  bat  even  that  would 
have  been  fruitless,  had  not  Alice  possessed  both  the 
power  and  the  disposition  to  excel  m  every  study 
which  she  pursued. 

After  Alice  had  gratified  her  brother,  and  our 
young  friend  Herbert  no  less,  by  her  performances  at 
the  piano-awte,  the  former  tanned  to  his  mother,  who 
was  very  quietly  employed  hi  embroidering  a  little 
cap  for  the  baby,  and  said : 

u  I  must  call  upon  you,  my  dear  mother,  to  aid  me  in 
the  discharge  of  Ac  duty  which  I  shall  impose  upon 
as  my  contribution  to  the  evening's  amuse 


"I  hope  it  is  nothing  raj  formidable  tint  yon  ex- 
pert  of  me,  WuTiam,"  die  replied,  laughing!  y.  "fa 
it  to  sing  for  TOO  1" 

••Precisely,  dear  mother,  that  wifl  be  a  part  of 
your  task,  and  one  for  whkfl  I  know  you  to  be  emi- 
nently qualified  ;  but  there  is  more  than  that  for  yon 
to  do.  I  hare  thought  of  a  capital  charade  which  I 
wish  to  act,  and  I  know  you  used  to  be  mj  clerer  at 


~  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  yon,  William,  for 
your  double  compliment  to  my  singing  and  acting 
talents;  but  I  am  afraid  that,  whatever  I  may  hare 
been  in  both  these  parts,  I  shall  be  of  little  assistance 
to  yon  now,  in  either." 

"Oh!  never  (ear,  dear  mother,  I  am  satisfied  that 
yon  wfll  be  all  I  wish  yon  to  be/* 

14  Your  confidence,  my  DOT*  skill  be  mv  talisman. 
Command  me  as  yon  wOL" 

*Well,  then,  lannocnce  lor  the  second  and  dosing 
part  of  the  evening's  entertainment,  a  charade-play, 
in  three  acts  f 

"Oh!  a  play!  that  wfll  be  defightfiuY*  said  Alice. 

«  A  rtal  play,  Ally/7  said  her  brother. 

•One,"  added  Dr.  Sinclair,  "which  we  may  a3 
witness  with  pleasure.9 

•And  one  in  which  you,  dear  sir,"  said  WflEaao, 
addressing  his  cither,  "most  oblige  us  by  consenting 
to  be  an  actor.  I  shall  not  assign  to  you  a  very 
laborious  parL^ 


70  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

"  I  shall  willingly  do  all  I  can,  Mr.  Manager,"  r& 
plied  his  father,  with  a  smile. 

The  preparations  for  the  play  were  immediately 
commenced  with  great  eagerness,  while  Harry  and 
his  young  friend  listened  to  Alice's  account  of  some 
charades  which  had  been  performed  at  Beechwood 
by  Dr.  Sinclair,  Miss  Maurice,  and  a  young  lady  \*  he 
Imc  visited  them  durirg  the  last  summer. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

The  Charade  in  Three  Acts— Mew— Sick— Music — Old  Hundred. 

THE  work  of  preparation  was  not  a  tedious  one. 
In  fifteen  minutes  the  actors  were  all  ready,  and 
William  Sinclair  thus  addressed  the  audience,  which 
was  composed  of  the  two  school-fellows  and  the 
three  girls : 

"Young  ladies  and  gentlemen,  you  must  guess, 
for  yourselves,  the  word  which  we  have  chosen  for 
our  charade,  from  the  representation  we  shall  give 
you  of  its  parts.  It  is  a  word  of  two  syllables,  to 
each  of  which  we  devote  an  act,  and  a  third  to  the 
complete  word,  which  if  you  fail  to  guess,  we  shall  be 
at  liberty  to  consider  you  very  dull  of  comprehen- 
sion." 

"  May  we  not,  in  that  case,  have  the  privilege  of 
supposing  that  you  are  very  bad  actors  ?"  inquired 
Alice,  with  a  merry  laugh  lurking  in  the  depths  of 
her  dark  eyes. 

"  Oh !  certainly,"  said  her  brother,  "  you  can  think 
what  you  please,  as  this  is  a  free  country,  they  tell 
us ;  but  then  you  know,  my  sharp  little  sister,  that 
your  thinking  us  bad  actors  won't  make  us  so !" 

"  I  hope  not,  indeed,"  she  retorted ;  "  and  if  our 


72  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

thinking  you  good  ones  will  make  you  so,  you  will  be 
really  wonderful !" 

"  But,"  said  Harry,  "  are  we  to  ask  no  questions 
about  it?" 

"  Not  a  question,  my  boy." 

"  Please  then  to  be  very  clear  in  your  representa- 
tions." 

"  We  will  try,"  said  the  obliging  manager ;  "  and 
now  suppose  the  curtain  to  rise  for  Act  the  first." 

William  Sinclair  now  took  his  hat  and  cane  and 
approached  his  mother,  who  had  entered  the  room, 
arrayed  in  a  pretty  bonnet  and  a  light  mantilla,  as  if 
for  a  walk.  She  was  to  act  the  part  of  a  young 
lady,  and  did  not  appear  altogether  out  of  character 
in  the  costume  she  had  put  on. 

"  Have  I  the  pleasure  of  finding  you  ready,  Miss 
Rosamond  ?"  said  William,  bowing  gracefully. 

"  I  am  quite  ready,  Mr.  Sinclair,"  she  replied. 

"And  where  shall  we  walk  this  charming  after- 
noon, my  dear  Miss  Eosamond  ?" 

"  Oh !  I  have  no  choice  ;  to  the  village,  or  to  the 
chapel,  or  the  grove,  whichever  you  please." 

"  Well,  to  the  latter  tnen,  with  your  favour,"  re- 
plied the  gentleman. 

"  Oh !  stay,"  said  Miss  Rosamond  as  she  rose  to 
set  out,  "  I  have  forgotten  my  vinaigrette,"  and  she 
took  from  the  what-not  a  delicate  little  bottle  of  cut 
glass,  with  a  gold  chain  attached. 

They  now  walked  abcat  the  room,  discoursing  as 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  73 

they  went,  of  the  scenes  which  were  supposed  to  sur- 
round them. 

"  How  charming  is  nature !"  said  the  lady.  "How 
exquisite  her  sights  which  refresh  the  eye,  and  her 
sounds  which  delight  the  ear !  I  love  all  natural 
sounds — the  singing  of  birds — the  lowing  of  cattle — 
the  bay  of  the  hounds — the  chirp  of  the  squirrel — 
the  hum  of  the  bee — " 

Here  she  started  with  a  sudden  scream,  and  seized 
the  arm  of  her  companion  with  convulsive  energy. 

"  My  dear  Miss  Rosamond,  what  ails  you  ?  Are 
you  ill  ?"  he  asked  with  tones  of  alarm. 

Miss  Kosamond  screamed  again,  in  concert  with 
the  piteous  wail  of  a  cat  which  was  now  heard,  and 
replied  in  great  trepidation — 

"  Oh !  no — yes — oh ! — the  cat ! — oh  the  horrid 
thing !" 

"A  cat!  my  dear  Miss  Rosamond — the  voice  of 
a  cat  alarm  you!  I  thought  you  admired  all  natural 
voices,"  said  her  companion  with  a  slight  tone  of 
irony. 

"  Oh!  dear!"  she  exclaimed,  as  again  the  crying  of 
the  cat  was  distinctly  heard — and  so  loudly  repeated, 
that  all  the  audience  discovered  that  this  was  Dr. 
Sinclair's  part  of  the  performance.  Alice  looked  at 
Herbert,  who  had  been  previously  looking  at  her, 
and  their  eyes  met  with  a  very  puzzled  look,  which 
seemed  to  say,  "  What  a  very  funny  scene!"  Harry 
even  whispered  to  Herbert  that  he  thought  the  word 


74  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

must  be  catastrophe !     But  they  turned  again  to  the 
actors. 

William  Sinclair-was  recommending  the  vinaigrette 
to  his  fair  friend,  and  after  using  it  she  was  a  little 
recovered  from  her  alarm,  but  begged  him  to  drive 
away  the  cat,  which  he  proceeded  to  do  with  mock 
gravity,  exclaiming  to  Dr.  Sinclair, 

"  S-shue,  cat ! — s-shue,  pussy !" 

The  cat  departed  with  a  prolonged  and  melancholy 
wail,  which  so  increased  the  alarm  of  Miss  Rosa- 
mond that  she  declared  herself  incapable  of  continu- 
ing her  walk,  and  consequently  the  pair  returned 
home,  which  they  were  supposed  to  do  by  retiring 
from  the  library,  and  the  first  act  was  over. 

Amid  the  general  and  hearty  laughter  which  fol- 
lowed this  amusing  scene,  there  were  sundry  specula- 
tions as  to  the  word  which  was  intended,  though  the 
young  people  were  quite  agreed  that  the  first  part  of 
it  must  be  cat,  for  as  Harry  very  sagaciously  ob 
served, 

"  The  cat  is  so  far  the  most  prominent  character  in 
the  play." 

After  a  few  moments'  interval  the  actors  returned 
They  were  all  dressed  in  travelling  costume,  and  the 
lady  carried  a  basket,  while  one  of  the  gentlemen 
bore  a  carpet-bag  and  the  other  a  portmanteau  in 
his  hands. 

"  Have  you  ever  been  to  sea,  Mr.  Brown  ?"  said 
the.  lady  with  a  simpering  smile. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  75 

"  No,  Miss  Green,"  replied  Mr.  Brown,  (alias  Dr. 
Sinclair,)  "  I  have  never  been  outside  the  Hook." 

"  Oh  !  dear  me,  William,  I  hope  we  shall  have  a 
storm.  I  have  so  much  longed  to  see  a  storm  on  the 
ocean." 

"  Nonsense,  Amarintha,  you  won't  want  to  see  a 
second  one,  I  fancy." 

"Oh!  you  think  I  shall  not  enjoy  it,  William] 
What  do  you  think,  Mr.  Brown  ?" 

"  My  dear  Miss  Green  I  am  sure  I  hope  you  will." 

"  Is  this  the  steamer  we  are  to  go  in,  Mr.  Brown  ?" 

"  Yes,  Miss  Green ;  allow  me  to  conduct  you  on 
board." 

"  Oh !  what  a  singular  odour,  Mr.  Brown,"  she 
exclaimed  as  they  passed  to  the  stair- way  which  led 
to  the  upper  deck. 

"  Delicious,  Miss  Green." 

"Oh!  I  declare  I  don't  think  so,"  she  a^<J<?d, 
resorting  to  her  essence  bottle. 

"Villainous  then,  if  you  like  the  term  better,''  uid 
the  accommodating  Mr.  Green. 

"  How  fast  she  sails,  doesn't  she,  William  T' 

"  She  doesn't  sail,  Amarintha ;  she  goes  by  stear^," 
said  her  brother,  which  was  the  evident  relations':  'p 
the  younger  gentleman  bore  to  her. 

"  Oh !  it  is  charming — charming,  Mr.  Brown.  I 
have  had  such  exquisite  fancies  of  the  ocean — of  J~  j 
vast  expanse — of  its  colour,  which  Byron  says  is 

'So  deeply,  darkly,  beautifully  blue.' 


76  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

But  dear  me,  it  doesn't  look  blue  now ;  what  is  the 
reason,  Mr.  Brown  f 

"  This  isn't  the  ocean  yet,  Miss  Green.  We  have 
not  passed  the  Hook." 

"  Shall  we  see  the  Hook,  and  what  do  they  hang 
on  it,  Mr.  Brown  ?" 

"  Why,  Amarintha,  don't  you  know  that  the  Hook 
is  only  a  point  of  land  around  which  we  have  to  go 
to  get  out  to  sea  ?"  said  her  brother. 

"  No,  indeed,  I  didn't ;  though  now  I  recollect  it  is 
called  Sandy  Hook.  I  wish  we  were  already  beyond 
it.  I  do  so  long  to  see  the  beautiful  sea — 

'The  blue,  the  fresh,  the  ever  free.'  " 

"Hold  on,  Mr.  Brown,"  said  William,  as  the 
former  clutched  his  straw  hat,  with  which  the  fresh 
breeze  seemed  to  be  making  free,  "  see,  I  have  got 
mine  fast  to  my  button-hole." 

"  The  wind  blows  very  hard,"  said  the  lady,  "  and 
now  I  feel  the  motion  of  the  ship,  like  a  delightful 
lullaby.  How  sweet  it  must  be  to  be  rocked  to—- 
Oh !  dear !"  she  exclaimed,  "  how  very  queer  I  felt 
just  then." 

"  Will  you  go  below  ?"  said  her  brother. 

"Oh!  no,  indeed;  I  want  to  see  the  boundless  ocean, 
to—  oh !  my  head — what  can  it  be  ?" 

"Are  you  not  well,  Miss  Green1?"  inquired  Mr. 
Brown,  with  a  pale  face — "are  you — heugh — I'm" — 

"Oh!  dear!"  said  the  lady,  "I  must— heugh— J 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  77 

must," — and  her  head  bent  over  the  chair  on  which 
she  sat. 

"  I  will  go  below  and  get  you  some  water,"  said 
Mr.  Brown,  "  but — heugh" — and  he  rushed  out  of  the 
room,  followed  by  William,  who  was  half  carrying 
the  form  of  the  fair  Amarintha. 

"  Sick — sick— sick,"  said  all  the  young  people  m 
chorus. 

"  Even  sic,"  said  Harry,  venturing  a  little  Latin 
pun,  perhaps  because  his  father  was  not  at  hand  to 
hear  it. 

"I  think  it  must  be  sick"  said  Alice,  "but  then, 
what  are  we  to  do  with  cat  ?n 

"And  a  cat  sick — especially,"  said  Herbert. 

"  It  can't  be  cat,  or  it  can't  be  sick,  one,"  returned 
Harry,  quite  discouraged  by  the  difficulty  of  the 
combination. 

While  they  were  discussing  the  matter,  the  actors 
reappeared.  William  Sinclair  entered  with  Mrs. 
Sinclair  leaning  on  his  arm,  and  he  led  her  toward 
Dr.  Sinclair,  who  immediately  put  on  a  very  import- 
ant air. 

"  I  have  the  happiness,  Mr.  Blarneum,  of  intro- 
ducing to  you  Signorina  Phillipina  Tamborina  Squal- 
lina,  a  member  of  the  Conservatoire  Musicale  of 
Paris." 

The  lady  bowed,  and  Mr.  Blarneum  bowed,  and 
the  latter  said — 

"  I  am  happy,  Mr.  Trombon,  to  see  the  lady,  and 


78  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

shall  be  glad  to  have  a  specimen  of  her  vocal  powers 
before  we  talk  about  terms." 

"Certainly,  Mr.  Blarneum;  I  am  sure  she  will 
delight  you,  and  prove  a  great  card  for  a  concert 
tour.  Her  voice  is  wonderful,  sir,  in  its  range,  its 
register,  and  its  reed-like  tone." 

"Ah !  well,  let  us  see,  or  rather  let  us  hear"  and  the 
speaker  smiled  and  hemmed,  as  he  drew  a  white  cam- 
bric from  his  pocket  and  hid  his  face  in  it. 

Signorina  Squallina  hemmed  and  cleared  her  throat, 
and  hemmed  again,  while  Mr.  Trombon  seated  him- 
self at  the  piano,  and  began  running  his  fingers  furi 
ously  over  the  keys. 

The  Signorina  unrolled  a  sheet  of  music,  and 
opened  her  mouth  to  sing,  which  she  did  in  the  most 
approved  opera  style,  uttering  an  incredible  number  of 
notes,  with  incredible  rapidity,  leaping  up  a  scale  and 
then  down  again,  warbling,  and  quavering,  and 
bravuraing  to  the  uncontrollable  delight  of  the  audi- 
ence, who  did  not  wait  for  the  conclusion  of  the  piece 
to  manifest  their  applause.  The  lady  sung  on,  how- 
ever, bowing  and  smirking  prodigiously,  and  surpass- 
ing herself  in  her  renewed  efforts  to  fling  her  voice  off 
of  precipices  into  deep  caverns,  and  then  to  reach  the 
top  again  by  surprising  vocal  flights.  Mr.  Blarneum 
was  evidently  impressed  with  the  lady's  performances, 
for  1,0  sooner  had  she  subsided,  after  a  most  amazing 
ecstasy  of  vocalization,  into  a  corner  of  the  sofa,  than 
he  extended  his  hand  to  Mr.  Trombon  and  said : 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  79 

"  Heally,  my  dear  sir,  she  is  an  angel !  and  I  have 
no  doubt  she  will  create  a  furore  of  wonder  and 
admiration.  I  should  like  to  make  an  engagement 
for  at  least  one  hundred  nights." 

Mr.  Trombon  was  delighted  in  his  turn,  and  inter- 
preted Mr.  Blarneum's  nattering  words  to  the  fair 
singer,  who  blushed,  and  immediately  rising,  courte- 
sied  low  to  the  manager. 

"  And  how  much  will  you  give,  Mr.  Blarneum  ?" 
said  Mr.  Trombon,  in  a  modest  tone. 

"  Eather  let  me  ask  how  much  you  demand  ]"  was 
the  reply. 

"  Will  two  hundred  dollars  a  night,  and  a  benefit 
in  every  important  town,  be  out  of  the  way,  Mr. 
Blarneum  ?" 

"I  should  be  unwilling  to  accept  those  terms," 
said  the  manager,  blandly,  "though  I  do  not  think 
ther^  beyond  the  merits  of  the  Signorina.  I  will 
give  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  night,  and  make 
no  promise  about  benefits." 

"  The  offer  is  accepted,"  said  Mr.  Trombon,  "  and 
we  will  be  ready,  sir,  to  commence  at  your  pleasure." 

"  I  will  arrange  matters  speedily,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Good  night,  sir." 

'  Good  night,  sir." 

Mr.  Blarneum  shook  hands  with  the  Signorina 
without  speaking,  and  so  the  party  retired  from  the 
room. 

They  returned  immediately,  however,  no  longer  iu 


80  HARRY'S  VACATION-,  OR, 

character,  but  eager  to  know  if  their  play  had  been 
correctly  interpreted.  They  were  instantly  assailed 
by  Harry,  with  the  very  luminous  question — 

"  What  have  sick  cats  to  do  with  concerts  ?" 

"  Ah  !  my  boy,"  said  his  father,  "  you  don't  burn." 

"  Oh  !  dear,"  said  Alice,  "  what  can  it  be — the  first 
word  isn't  cat,  I'm  sure,  now  !" 

"  Is  it  not  music  ?"  said  Herbert,  rather  timidly. 

"  Bravo,  Herbert !  you  deserve  a  fiddle-stick,"  said 
Dr.  Sinclair. 

"Music!"  said  Harry;  "how  do  you  make  that 
out  ?" 

"  Why,  didn't  the  cat  mew — and  were  not  the  trav- 
ellers sick — and — " 

"  Oh!  I  see  now,"  interposed  Harry, "  and  the  whole 
word  was  represented  by  Messrs.  Trombon  and  Blar- 
neum,  and  the  Signorina  Philomena  something." 

Alice  was  perfectly  satisfied  not  to  have  guessed 
it  herself,  as  was  evident  from  the  pleased  smile  with 
which  she  said : 

"  Why,  Herbert,  I  thought  you  were  not  trying  to 
guess  it ;  you  didn't  say  any  thing  at  either  of  the 
first  two  acts." 

"  I  did  not  guess  it  at  all,"  he  answered,  "  until 
Harry  put  cats  and  concerts  together,  and  then  I 
thought  of  music !" 

"  You  thought  my  singing  a  sort  of  caterwauling  I 
suppose,  Herbert?"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair,  laughing  at 
the  idea. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  81 

"  Oh !  no,  mamma,  I'm  sure  he  thought  it  wonder- 
ful," was  Alice's  reply. 

"  Well,  we  have  had  music  of  different  kinds,  to 
night,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  but'I  hope  they  have  not 
unfitted  us  for  still  another  kind — that  of  devotion. 
It  is  now  time  for  prayers,  and  we  will  sing  the  even- 
ing hymn  to  Old  Hundred,  that  grand  air  of  Martin 
Luther's.  My  dear,"  he  added,  turning  to  Mrs. 
Sinclair,  "  you  will  play  it  for  us,  I  hope  ?" 

Mrs.  Sinclair  now  approached  the  piano,  no  longer 
n  the  character  of  an  opera  singer,  but  in  a  character 
more  congenial  to  her  cultivated  mind  and  to  her  do- 
mestic nature — that  of  a  loving  and  grateful  mother. 
She  played  and  led  the  air,  Alice  sung  treble,  Wil- 
liam the  tenor,  and  Dr.  Sinclair  the  bass,  and  thia 
quartette  of  voices  made  delightful  melody  of  thf 
words  of  the  evening  hymn. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Snow — Congratulations — Snow  in  the  City — Snow-Crystals — Uses 
of  Snow — The  Snow-Blanket — Travellers  in  the  Alps — Harry's 
Wise  Resolution — Why  Snow-Crystals  are  Opaque — Why  Loftj 
Mountain  Tops  are  Covered  with  Snow — Sledding — An  Upset. 

THE  next  morning  dawned  upon  a  scene  still 
more  wintry  than  that  which  presented  itself  to 
the  view  of  our  young  friends  when  they  arrived 
at  Beechwood.  During  the  night,  snow  had  fallen  to 
the  depth  of  five  or  six  inches,  and  the  fleecy  cover- 
ing lay  lightly  upon  all  the  face  of  nature.  There 
had  been  no  wind,  and  the  light  feathery  crystals  rest- 
ed where  they  fell,  whether  upon  the  ground  or 
upon  the  trees.  The  light  branches  of  the  latter  were 
bent  by  the  weight  of  the  snow,  which  presented  a 
brilliant  contrast  to  the  dark  glossy  foliage  of  the 
evergreens  which  adorned  the  grounds. 

There  was  something  exhilarating — indeed,  almost 
fascinating — in  the  scene.  The  white  robe  concealed 
the  barrenness  of  winter,  even  while  it  proclaimed 
the  dominion  of  that  ungenial  season.  It  was  such  a 
type  of  purity  and  innocence,  that  no  one  could 
regard  it  without  a  pleasurable  feeling.  The  sight 
tvas  hailed  with  positive  enthusiasm  by  all  the  young 
people.  It  was  the  first  snow  of  the  season,  and  they 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  83 

had  been  talking  of  sleigh-rides  and  other  snow 
frolics,  with  so  much  eagerness  of  anticipation,  that 
they  could  scarcely  restrain  their  impatience  to  enjoy 
the  reality. 

After  morning  prayers  in  the  library,  they  gathered 
in  the  recess  of  the  tower-window,  and  discussed  the 
out-of-door  aspect  of  things. 

"Oh!  how  glad  I  am  the  snow  has  come,"  said 
Alice. 

"  And  I,  too,  am  real  glad,"  said  Herbert,  "  for  I 
think  I  shall  enjoy  the  snow  in  the  country,  which  we 
can't  do  in  the  city." 

"  Why  not,  Herbert  ?"  inquired  Alice. 

"Because  it  don't  stay  long,  or  if  it  does  lie  on  the 
ground,  it  is  only  in  our  narrow  little  yards,  where  it 
is  all  thrown  into  heaps.  It  is  not  long  clean  and 
pure,  as  it  is  here." 

"  Don't  you  have  snow-men  and  snow-balling  in  the 
city,  Herbert  ?"  said  Mary,  who  had  learned  by  this 
time  to  take  part  in  the  conversation. 

"  Snow-men  very  seldom,  Mary ;  there  is  plenty 
of  snow-balling ;  but  then  that  is  not  much  fun  in  the 
little  yards,  and  the  street  is  not  a  proper  place  to 
indulge  in  such  sport." 

"  Oh !  we  will  have  rare  fun  here,  though,"  said 
Harry ;  and  he  added,  turning  to  his  brother  Wil- 
liam, who  was  looking  over  the  pages  of  Blackwood's 
Magazine,  "  Will  you  join  us  in  a  snow-balling  frolic, 
after  breakfast?" 


84  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"You  are  reckoning  too  fast,  Harry,"  said  his 
brother.  "  The  snow  is  not  in  a  proper  condition  for 
snow-balling ;  when  it  is,  I  shall  be  very  happy  to 
engage  in  the  sport  with  you." 

"Won't  the  snow  make  balls  now,  brother  Wil- 
lie ?"  was  Fanny's  question. 

"  Not  very  easily,  Fan ;  it  is  light  and  dry,  now, 
and  had  there  been  any  wind  in  the  night,  it  would 
have  been  drifted  into  great  heaps,  ar.d  the  ground  in 
many  places  would  be  bare." 

"  Why  is  it  light  and  dry,  brother  Willie  ?"  asked 
Alice. 

"  Can't  you  think  of  the  reason,  Ally  ?" 

"  Only  because  it  is  frozen  too  hard — is  that  it  ?" 

"  That  explains  it.  The  temperature  of  the  air  is 
low  enough  to  keep  the  crystals  or  flakes  in  the  solid 
condition.  If  it  were  a  little  higher,  they  would  melt, 
at  least  partially,  and  become  damp,  so  that  they 
would  cling  together." 

"  Then  it  must  thaw  a  little  before  we  can  make 
snow-balls  to  advantage,"  was  Alice's  correct  con- 
clusion. 

"  Probably  the  heat  of  the  sun  will  effect  all  we 
want,  in  that  respect,  in  the  course  of  the  morning," 
said  William  Sinclair. 

The  breakfast-bell  now  summoned  the  family  to 
the  table,  and  there  the  subject  of  the  snow  was 
resumed. 

"  Are  the  snow-flakes  shaped  like  the  particles  of 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  85 

frost  which  we  saw  in  the  microscope,  the  other  day  1" 
inquired  Alice  of  her  father. 

"  Certainly,"  was  Dr.  Sinclair's  reply.  "  I  think  I 
told  you,  did  I  not,  that  water  crystallizes  in  definite 
forms  1  Snow-flakes  are  crystals  of  watery  vapour, 
condensed  in  the  upper  regions  of  the  atmosphere, 
when  the  temperature  sinks  below  the  freezing 
point." 

"Well,"  said  Harry,  "the  snow  makes  capital 
sport  for  boys — and  girls,  too,  as  for  that,"  he  added, 
giving  a  quizzical  look  to  his  sisters ;  •'  but  that's 
most  all  it's  good  for,  I  guess." 

"  Oh !  no,  Harry,  you  are  widely  mistaken,  there ; 
isn't  he,  papa  ?"  Alice  quickly  responded. 

"  Widely  mistaken,  indeed,  my  child  ;  and  I  am  a 
little  astonished  that  your  brother  should  make  such 
a  mistake.  The  snow  of  no  other  use  than  to  make 
sport  for  boys  and  girls !" 

"  Oh !  it  looks  pretty,  I  know,"  said  Harry,  "  and 
it's  good  for  sleighing ;  but  then  we  could  get  along 
without  either  seeing  it,  or  riding  over  it." 

"  So  we  could,  Master  Sage ;  but  it  has  other  very 
important  offices  and  uses.  Alice  will  tell  you  some 
of  them,  at  least." 

"  One,  papa,  which  I  remember  Miss  Maurice  told 
me  of,  is  to  protect  vegetation  from  the  extreme  cold 
of  winter." 

"  Protect  vegetation !"  said  Harry ;  "  over  the  left, 
you  mean,  I  suppose  1  Why  that's  Jacob  Fletcher's 


86  HARRY'S  VACATION  :  OB, 

notion.  He  said,  yesterday,  that  he  hoped  there 
would  be  plenty  of  snow  this  winter ;  and  when  I 
asked  him  what  for,  he  said  to  keep  the  ground  warm  ! 
I  laughed  at  him,  but  he  insisted  that  it  would  do 
so." 

"Jacob  Fletcher  could  better  afford  to  laugh  at 
you,  my  boy,"  was  his  father's  reply,  "  for  he  was 
right ;  and  you  should  learn  at  once  that  snow  is  one 
of  the  greatest  blessings  which  our  kind  Benefactor 
sends  with  the  winter.  It  lies  upon  the  ground,  in 
cold  countries,  just  like  warm  blankets." 

"I  shouldn't  like  to  sleep  under  a  snow-blanket, 
papa,"  said  Mary. 

"  Perhaps  not,  my  daughter,  but  you  might  sleep 
less  safely,  I  can  assure  you." 

"  I  can  not  understand  how,  papa,"  said  the  young 
girl,  ingenuously. 

"  Can  you  tell  us,  Alice  ?" 

"  I  suppose,  papa,  you  are  thinking  of  the  poor  lost 
travellers  in  the  Bernese  Alps,  in  Switzerland,  of 
whom  such  sad  stories  are  related." 

"  I  am,  indeed,  thinking  of  them,  Alice.  They  are 
sometimes  overtaken,  in  the  passes  of  the  Alps,  by  ter 
rible  snow  drifts,  which  so  obstruct  the  way  that  they 
can  not  reach  the  usual  shelters,  and  are  sometimes 
buried  up  beneath  piles  of  snow-blankets." 

"  Yes,  papa ;  but  they  perish  if  they  are  not  soon 
rescued." 

''They  would  live  longer  if  actually  covered  up  in 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  87 

tli3  snow,  than  if  they  were  to  lie  upon  its  surface," 
was  Dr.  Sinclair's  reply. 

Fanny's  eyes  expressed  great  wonder,  and  the  lips 
of  Harry  did  precisely  the  same. 

"  Travellers  have  been  rescued  alive  by  the  monks 
and  the  noble  dogs,  which  they  keep  and  train  for  the 
purpose,  from  drifts  of  snow  hi  which  they  must 
have  lain  buried  for  some  hours ;  while  at  the  same 
time  some  of  their  ill-fated  companions  have  been 
found  dead  and  frozen  stiff,  outside  of  the  drift." 

"  Oh !  how  terrible !"  exclaimed  Mary,  shudder 
ing  at  the  scene  her  quick  fancy  conjured  up. 

"Terrible  indeed,"  said  William;  "but  had  not 
the  rescued  travellers  great  reason  to  be  thankful 
to  a  wise  Providence  for  the  snow-blanket  which 
shielded  them  from  death  ?" 

"Alice  only  mentioned  one  benefit  of  snow,"  said 
William ;  "  but  there  is  another  of  importance.  It 
not  only  shields  plants  and  animals  from  the  rigours 
of  cold  climates,  but  it  gathers  upon  the  mountain- 
tops,  and  then,  gradually  melting  beneath  the  sum- 
mer heat,  flows  down  in  streams  to  water  the  valleys 
and  plains.  If  the  snows  of  winter  fell  in  the  form 
of  rain,  these  streams  would  swell  into  destructive 
torrents,  which  would  deluge  the  low  regions." 

"  But,  brother  William,"  said  Harry,  "  the  snow 
sometimes  melts  .so  fast  in  the  spring,  as  to  make 
freshets  which  do  much  damage." 

"  That  is  true,  Harry ;  but  these  arc  exceptions 


88  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OB, 

and  snow  freshets  are  not  half  so  common  as  rain 
freshets." 

"  Snow,  then,  you  see,  my  young  philosopher,"  said 
Dr.  Sinclair,  u  is  not  only  ornamental,  but  useful  in 
a  very  high  degree.  It  is  said  that  Alpine  plants 
perish  in  the  mild  winters  of  England,  for  want  of 
the  snow-blankets  under  which,  in  their  native  clime, 
they  sleep  all  the  winter  long." 

"  I  will  never  again  say  that  snow  is  of  no  use, 
except  for  sport,"  said  Harry  eagerly,  as  he  listened 
to  these  evidences  of  the  importance  of  snow. 

"That  is  a  good  resolution,  my  son;  only  let  me 
recommend  you  to  extend  it  to  every  thing  that  God 
has  made,  however  insignificant  or  useless  it  appears 
to  be." 

"I  will,  papa,"  was  Harry's  answer,  "for  I  ara 
beginning  to  see  that  my  ignorance  makes  things 
seem  to  be  of  little  use." 

"  Brother  Willie,"  said  Alice,  who  had  been  appa- 
rently deep  in  thought  for  a  few  moments,  "I  cac 
not  understand  one  thing  about  the  snow." 

"  If  there  is  only  one  thing  about  it,  Ally,"  said 
her  brother,  "  that  you  don't  understand,  you  may 
count  yourself  wise." 

"  Now,  brother  Willie,  you  are  laughing  at  me," 
she  replied  ;  "  but  be  kind  enough,  if  you  please,  to 
tell  me  why  the  snow  is  not  transparent  like  ice,  if 
the  crystals  of  both  are  precisely  the  same  ?" 

"  Well  done,  Alice,"  said  her  father,  as  William 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  •  89 

hesitated  a  moment  at  the  question  thus  suddenly 
proposed  to  him,  as  a  just  penalty  for  his  banter  to  hi8 
sister ;  "  you  have  posed  your  brother,  I  verily 
believe." 

William  smiled  quietly  as  he  quickly  replied — 

"Not  exactly;  for  although  I  do  not  recollect  to 
have  thought,  or  read  of  the  reason,  I  imagine  that  it  is 
owing  to  the  imperfection  of  structure  in  the  crystals 
of  the  snow.  Am  I  correct,  sir?" 

"  You  approach  the  true  reason,  my  son.  The 
snow-crystals  of  low  latitudes  are  seldom  perfect, 
and  the  air  which  they  contain  makes  them  opaque  or 
cloudy.  You  have,  doubtless,  seen  ice  of  considera- 
ble thickness  exhibiting  a  cloudy  appearance,  as  if  the 
interior  was  filled  with  snow.  This  is  ice  frozen 
when  the  temperature  is  not  very  low,  and  when  also 
the  air  is  not  exceedingly  calm — two  conditions 
opposed  to  a  perfect  crystallization  of  water." 

"  What  is  the  reason,  sir,"  said  Herbert,  "  that 
the  tops  of  very  high  mountains  are  perpetually 
covered  with  snow  T' 

"  Can  you  not  think  of  a  reason,  Herbert  1" 

"  I  know  it  is  said,  sir,  that  it  is  very  cold  there  ; 
but  if  the  sun  is  the  source  of  heat  to  our  globe,  why 
are  not  the  mountain-tops  hotter  than  the  valleys  or 
the  plains  ?" 

"  Your  question  is  not  an  idle  one,  Herbert.  It 
seems  very  proper  to  suppose  that  the  tops  of  moun- 
tains should  catch  the  heat  first,  as  we  know  they  do 


90  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  ou, 

the  light.  But  the  rays  of  the  sun  afford  little  heat 
until  they  combine  with  our  atmosphere,  and  this  is 
so  rare  around  the  mountain-peaks,  that  the  sun's 
rays  are  not  as  freely  absorbed  by  it,  as  they  are  by 
the  denser  or  lower  portions  of  the  air." 

"  I  think  I  can  understand  that,"  replied  Herbert, 
delighted  to  obtain  a  new  idea. 

"Some  philosophers  have  supposed  that  heat  is 
not  contained  in  the  solar  ray  until  it  enters  our 
atmosphere,  and  acquires  it  in  passing  through  it. 
Without  adopting  this  hypothesis,  we  may  be  sure 
that  the  atmosphere  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the 
diffusion  and  action  of  that  very  subtle  agent  which  we 
called  caloric,  in  our  first  conversation  on  this  subject." 

Breakfast  was  now  finished,  and  the  whole  party 
rose  up  from  the  table.  Alice  and  Mary  engaged 
their  brother  William  to  go  with  them  in  their  usual 
morning  rounds  to  feed  the  pets  and  the  fowls,  while 
Harry  urged  Herbert  to  go  with  him  into  the  tool 
house  and  put  their  coasting  sleds  in  order,  for  some 
sport.  Alice  found  her  pet  deer  bounding  and  racing 
about  in  the  snow,  as  if  he  enjoyed  it  quite  as  much 
as  the  boys  might  do.  The  rabbits  were  in  their 
hutch,  but  came  out  promptly  at  Fanny's  weU-known 
call,  to  receive  their  food  from  her  little  hands.  The 
boys  had  no  sooner  put  their  sleds  into  good  order 
than  they  came  back  to  the  house,  to  entreat  the 
others  to  go  with  them  to  the  hill  and  witness 
the.  sport. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  91 

"  You  shall  ride  down,  and  we  will  drag  you  up 
the  hill,  Alice,"  said  Harry  by  way  of  inducement. 

"  That  would  be  making  you  pay  dearly  for  our 
company,"  replied  Alice,  laughing.  "  No !  no  !  my 
good  brother,  if  we  ride  down,  we  must  walk  up ; 
and  I  confess  that  I  shall  at  least  enjoy  seeing  the 
sport  very  much." 

So  they  all  agreed  to  go  to  the  hill.  Mrs.  Sinclair 
saw  that  the  girls  were  well  wrapped  up,  and  that 
they  had  on  their  rubber-shoes,  nicely  trimmed  with 
fur.  Herbert  and  Harry  had  both  equipped  them 
selves  in  boots  of  the  same  material,  and  so  were  well 
prepared  for  any  sort  of  frolic  in  the  snow.  The 
morning  passed  rapidly  away  in  out-of-door  amuse- 
ment. The  sun  warmed  the  snow  just  enough  to 
make  it  pack  beneath  the  feet  and  beneath  the  run- 
ners of  the  sleds,  which  at  first  moved  down  the  hill 
somewhat  slowly.  Very  soon,  however,  the  track 
became  hard  and  smooth,  and  then  they  shot  down 
with  their  burdens  like  arrows.  It  was  some  time 
before  the  boys  could  persuade  either  Alice  or  Mary 
to  descend  with  them ;  and  indeed,  had  not  Fanny 
agreed  to  go  down  with  her  brother  William,  the 
girls  might  have  enjoyed  the  sport  as  spectators  only. 
She  made  so  successful  a  descent  in  her  brother's  arms, 
though  she  screamed  a  very  little  as  the  sled  rushed 
down,  that  both  Alice  and  Mary  agreed  to  follow  her 
example,  Alice  with  Harry,  and  Mary  with  Her- 
bert. The  boys  behaved  very  gallantly  upon  the 


92  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

occasion,  and  exerted  their  best  skill  to  make  a  safe 
descent,  which  was  in  both  cases  triumphantly 
achieved  amid  the  laughter  of  all.  I  suppose  that  if 
Herbert  had  been  entrusted  with  the  care  of  Alice,  he 
would  have  been  more  delighted,  but  he  could  not  have 
been  more  careful.  Harry  proved  himself  treacher- 
ous upon  a  second  descent,  for  when  the  sled  was  well 
nigh  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  he  managed  to  upset 
it,  spilling  both  himself  and  Alice  into  the  fresh  soft 
snow,  much  to  the  amusement  of  the  rest,  and  not  at 
all  to  Alice's  discomfiture,  for  she  had  quite  too  much 
amiability  not  to  take  the  "accident."  as  Harry  called 
it,  very  good  humouredly. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

An  Accession  to  the  Party — Mr.  Oldbuckle  Declines  an  Adven- 
ture— A  Sleigh-Ride  Proposed — Early  Dinner — The  Sleigh— 
The  Start— Ten  Miles  an  Hour— Viviandale— The  Vivians — 
William  Sinclair's  Desertion — A  Pardon  and  its  Conditions — 
Gertrude  Vivian — The  Return  Home. 

WHEN  Alice  had  picked  herself  up  from  the  soft 
white  bed  into  which  her  playful  brother  had 
upset  her,  and  while  the  shouts  of  the  whole  party 
were  yet  echoing  on  the  still  wintry  air,  Dr.  Sinclair 
and  Mr.  Oldbuckle  appeared  among  the  group. 

"What!"  said  the  latter  gentleman,  "my  bird 
taking  a  snow-bath?  I  hope  it  will  not  affect  her 
voice !" 

"  Oh  !  no !"  she  replied  gaily,  "  the  snow  is  not 
wet  enough  to  cling  to  one's  clothes.  I  shook  it  all 
off,  almost  like  dust." 

Harry  was  irreverent  enough  to  urge  his  father 
and  Mr.  Oldbuckle  to  make  a  descent  of  the  hill 
upon  their  sleds.  But  they,  laughingly,  declined  the 
adventure. 

"  No !  no !  my  boy,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  I  have 
no  solicitude  to  furnish  additional  proof  in  my  own 
person  of  the  classic  sentiment — 

Tacilis  descensus  Averni:' 


94  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

even  though  you  should  offer  to  excuse  me  from 
proving  further — 

1  Sed  revocare  gradum, 
Hie  labor,  hoc  opus  est.' " 

Harry  was  quite  abashed  by  this  learned  negation 
to  his  proposition,  and,  indeed,  it  was  lost  upon  all 
the  party  except  Dr.  Sinclair  and  William,  who 
laughed  so  heartily,  that  Mr.  Oldbuckle  was  quite 
delighted  with  the  effect  of  his  classical  pleasantry. 

When  Mr.  Oldbuckle  heard  that  they  had  held  a 
philosophical  discussion  upon  the  snow,  at  the  break- 
fast-table, he  expressed  his  regret  that  he  was  not 
present.  Dr.  Sinclair  begged  him  to  become  their 
guest  for  the  period  of  the  vacation,  an  invitation 
which  he  declined,  but  not  without  a  warm  expression 
of  thanks  for  the  hospitality  and  kindness  which 
prompted  it. 

He  now  informed  Alice  and  the  rest  of  the  young 
people,  that  he  had  made  arrangements  for  a  sleigh- 
ride  that  very  afternoon,  and  begged  them  to  be  in 
readiness  to  start  immediately  after  dinner.  There 
was  no  demurring  on  the  part  of  any.  The  sport 
•was  just  what  every  one  of  them  most  fancied. 

Mrs.  Sinclair  had  kindly  promised  Mr.  Oldbuckle 
that  dinner  should  be  served  earlier  than  usual,  to 
give  them  the  longer  afternoon.  By  one  o'clock, 
therefore,  they  were  all  ready  for  the  excursion.  A 
very  large  sleigh  stood  at  the  front  door  of  Beech- 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  35 

wood  Hall.  It  was  a  substantial  rather  than  c«rna- 
mental  vehicle.  The  body  of  it  was  an  oblong  box 
nine  feet  long  by  four  feet  in  width,  which  was  fastened 
to  two  stout  frames,  called  runners.  These  were 
shod  with  flat  bars  of  iron  about  the  thickness  of  a 
tire  for  carriage  wheels.  These  runners  were  curved 
in  front  and  served  to  support  a  light  dash-board 
to  protect  those  in  the  sleigh  from  the  snow  which 
would  be  thrown  up  by  the  horses'  feet.  Four  seats 
were  arranged  in  the  body  of  the  sleigh.  These 
were  nicely  cushioned,  and  covered  besides  with  large 
buffalo  robes.  The  bottom  of  the  sleigh  had  been 
filled  with  fresh  straw,  and  the  whole  establishment 
looked  comfortable  and  inviting.  Two  fine  horses 
were  attached  to  the  sleigh,  and  were  evidently  impa- 
tient to  be  off  with  it.  So,  without  delay,  our  whole 
party,  not  excepting  Mrs.  Sinclair,  who  had  con- 
sented to  leave  her  domestic  duties  at  the  earnest 
solicitation  of  all,  bestowed  themselves  with  alacrity 
in  the  seats.  Herbert  had  the  extreme  happiness  of 
finding  himself  seated  with  Alice — just  behind  Mr. 
Oldbuckle  and  William  Sinclair,  and  just  in  front  of 
Harry  and  Mary.  The  last  seat  was  occupied  by 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sinclair,  with  little  Fan  between  them. 
The  sun  was  shining  bright  and  warm,  and  at  first 
our  party  treated  the  buffalos  with  a  little  disregai'd ; 
but  no  sooner  were  they  on  the  road,  the  sleigh  liter 
ally  flying  behind  the  fleet  horses,  than  they  found  i" 
desirable  to  shut  out  the  keen  air,  which  now  me 


96  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

them  full  in  their  faces,  by  folding  the  fur  robes  close 
about  them.  Herbert  wrapped  up  the  light  form  of 
Alice  with  a  vast  deal  of  care,  glad,  I  am  sure,  to  be 
enveloped  in  the  same  capacious  robe  with  his  fair 
companion.  She  was  in  high  spirits.  The  fresh  cold 
air  brought  an  unwonted  glow  to  her  cheek,  which 
Herbert  was  really  too  blind  to  see  extended  also  to 
a  more  prominent  member  of  her  face.  The  horses 
fairly  flew  as  William  Sinclair  cracked  the  whip,  in 
the  air,  over  their  glossy  coats.  The  snow,  also,  flew 
bravely,  and  miles  were  passed  over  with  a  rapidity 
and  smoothness  of  motion  which  could  in  no  other 
way  be  achieved  by  horses.  The  sleighing  was  found 
to  be  excellent,  for  although  the  snow  had  fallen  very 
dry,  the  ground  was  hard  beneath,  and  the  frozen  road 
had  been  worn  smooth  by  travel.  The  heat  of  the 
sun  was  sufficient,  therefore,  to  give  the  snow  a 
proper  temperature  for  becoming  firm  under  pres- 
sure. 

Ten  miles  were  done  in  considerably  less  than  an 
hour,  and  William  Sinclair  reined  up  bis  smoking 
steeds  in  front  of  a  large  and  beautiful  mansion  where 
a  college-mate  of  his  resided,  and  upon  whom  he  now 
proposed  to  make  an  unceremonious  call. 

Edward  Vivian  made  his  appearance  at  the  gate 
before  William  had  entered  it,  after  putting  the  reins 
into  Mr.  Oldbuckle's  hands.  The  young  men  greeted 
each  other  cordially,  and  Mr.  Vivian,  who  already 
knew  Dr.  Sinclair,  having  been  introduced  to  the  rest 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOMK.  97 

of  the  party,  so  earnestly  pressed  them  to  partake 
of  the  hospitalities  of  Vivian  dale,  that  they  could  not 
well  refuse. 

So  they  alighted  from  the  sleigh  ;  the  horses  were 
given  into  the  care  of  a  waiting  man,  and  they  all 
proceeded,  under  the  escort  of  their  young  host, 
toward  the  house.  They  were  met  at  the  porch  by 
the  elder  Mr.  Vivian,  who  made  them  feel  at  ease 
immediately  by  his  unaffected  politeness.  Edward 
Vivian  now  introduced  them  to  his  mother  and  his 
only  sister,  Gertrude  Vivian,  who  was  two  or  three 
years  Alice's  senior.  The  back  parlour  was  all  aglow 
with  the  radiance  of  a  huge  wood  fire,  and  unpre- 
meditated as  the  visit  was,  there  was  speedily  estab- 
lished between  all  the  parties  a  most  charming  accord. 
Gertrude  Vivian  played  for  her  new  friends,  and 
played  charmingly ;  and  I  am  glad  to  have  it  in  my 
power  to  say  that  Alice  Sinclair  made  no  objection 
when  Mrs.  Vivian  asked  her  to  succeed  her  daughter 
at  the  piano-forte.  She  could  not  play  as  well  as 
Gertrude,  she  knew ;  but  she  cheerfully  did  her  best, 
and  her  best  elicited  very  cordial  praise. 

Dr.  Sinclair  was  slightly  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Vivian,  having  met  him  at  an  agricultural  convention, 
held  in  the  county  town  the  previous  summer.  The 
sons  of  these  gentlemen  were  warm  friends  and  class- 
mates, and  so  the  family  friendship  grew  fast.  Even 
an  hour  sufficed  to  make  them  all  think  much  of  each 
other ;  and  when  Mr.  Oldbuckle  held  up  his  watch 


98  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

significantly  to  his  young  friend  William  Sinclair,  ha 
said  gaily — 

"  It  is  my  intention,  sir,  to  resign  the  ribands  into 
your  hands — in  other  words,  to  abdicate  the  box." 

l'  What  treason  is  this,  William  ?"  said  his  mother. 
"  You  are  surely  not  going  to  desert  us  ?" 

"  Pardon,  my  dear  mother,  I  cry  your  pardon  if  I 
plead  guilty.  But  hear  me  before  you  judge." 

"  What  can  you  say,  brother  William,  in  self- 
defence,  if  the  charge  be  not  false  ?"  said  Alice. 

"  Mother — sister — all — hear  me  and  decide  !  Ed- 
ward Vivian  begs  me  to  spend  the  night  at  Viviandale, 
and  I  have  consented  to  do  so — " 

"  Oh!  you  traitor  !"  said  his  mother,  and  Alice  re- 
peated her  words. 

"  Upon  the  condition  " — he  resumed,  smiling  as  he 
spoke — "  that  to-morrow,  Edward  Vivian  accompa- 
nies me  to  Beechwood,  to  spend  Christmas  with  us." 

"  Oh !  well,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair,  "  in  that  case,  I 
think  your  plea  must  be  admitted." 

"  I  shall  not  so  easily  forgive  you,  however,"  said 
Alice.  "  I  must  insist  upon  a  second  condition." 

"  Which  is—  1" 

"  That  Miss  Gertrude  Vivian  shall  accompany  her 
brother  and  yourself  to  Beechwood." 

"  Yes,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  I  approve  Alice's  amend- 
ment, most  cordially." 

"  And  I  accept  the  amendment  with  all  my  heart," 
said  Mrs.  Sinclair;  "the  proposition  delights  me." 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  99 

Gertrude  Vivian's  face  flushed  with  pleasure  at 
these  tokens  of  her  new  friends'  interest  in  her,  and 
her  eyes  turned  inquiringly  towards  her  mother. 

"  Would  you  like  to  go  with  your  brother,  my 
daughter?"  said  Mrs.  Vivian. 

"  Indeed,  mamma,  it  would  give  me  great  happi- 
ness." 

"  I  shall  accept  your  very  kind  invitation  for  Ger- 
trude, then,  Mrs.  Sinclair  and  Miss  Alice,"  replied 
Mrs.  Vivian,  "and  will  send  her,  to-morrow,  with 
your  recreant  son,"  and  she  smiled  archly  at  William. 

"  Not  recreant,"  said  his  mother,  "  if  he  makes 
such  noble  compensation  for  his  slight  defection." 

The  travelling  party  now  bade  their  hospitable 
friends  good  bye,  and  were  soon  comfortably  settled 
once  more  in  their  sleigh.  Dr.  Sinclair  insisted 
upon  exchanging  seats  with  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  and  taking 
the  reins  in  his  hands,  he  suffered  the  eager  horses  to 
start  in  the  direction  of  home.  William  Sinclair  and 
Edward  Vivian  stood  watching  the  rapidly  vanishing 
sleigh,  and  waved  their  handkerchiefs  just  as  a  bend 
in  the  road  carried  it  out  of  their  sight. 

The  ride  home  was  not  less  enjoyable  than  the  ride 
out.  Mr.  Oldbuckle  entertained  Mrs.  Sinclair  with 
reminiscences  of  English  Christmas  festivities — a  sub- 
ject which  was  suggested  by  her  cordial  invitation 
that  he  would  eat  Christmas  dinner  with  them  the 
day  after  next,  which  he  promised  to  do. 

Alice  and  Herbert  discussed  the  personal  appear. 


100  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

ance  and  the  apparent  temper  of  Gertrude  Vivian, 
appealing  ever  and  anon  to  Harry  and  Mary  for  their 
verdict  upon  such  points  of  the  case,  as  afforded  any 
opportunity  for  variance  of  opinion.  They  all  agreed 
that  she  was  beautiful,  and  that  her  manners  were 
graceful.  Herbert  was  perverse  enough  to  dispute 
the  opinion  of  Alice,  that  Gertrude  sung  better  than 
she  did.  I  wonder  at  Herbert's  boldness  in  this 
dispute,  but  candour  obliges  me  to  say  that  he  was 
right.  How,  indeed,  should  Alice  know — as  he  said 
somewhat  triumphantly — how  well  she  could  sing  1 
This  discussion  was  not  settled  by  a  verdict  from  the 
next  bench,  for  Herbert  refused  to  make  an  appeal. 

Little  Fanny  had  crept  into  the  buffalo  robe,  be- 
tween her  brother  and  sister,  and  there  the  darling 
little  girl  actually  fell  asleep,  and  did  not  awake  till 
the  sleigh  brought  up  somewhat  abruptly,  at  the  great 
gate  of  Beechwood  park.  Harry  jumped  out  to  fling 
it  wide  open,  and  so  disturbed  the  little  sleeper,  who 
rubbed  her  eyes  and  said,  very  innocently — 

"Is  it  morning,  mamma?" 

The  merry  laughter  awoke  her  completely,  so  that 
she  was  ready  among  the  first  to  be  lifted  out  of  the 
sleigh  by  old  Jacob  Fletcher,  who  was  waiting  at  the 
great  steps  which  led  up  to  the  front  door,  and  close 
to  which  the  sleigh  was  stopped. 

It  was  quite  sunset  when  they  reached  home,  and 
the  air  was  keen  with  frost.  Harry  congratulated  his 
school-fellow  that  the  pond  would  certainly  freeze 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  101 

over  during  the  night,  and  by  the  day  after  Christ- 
mas,  they  might  count  upon  capital  skating. 

"  I  am  glad,"  said  Harry,  "  that  the  pond  wasn't 
frozen  when  the  snow  fell,  because  now  we  shall  have 
clear  ice." 

"  If  it  don't  snow  again  to-night,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair, 
looking  up  at  the  sky,  which  was  lowering. 

There  were  none  of  the  party  who  did  not  welcome 
the  sound  of  the  tea-bell,  which  rung  out  its  silvery 
tones  very  soon  after  they  had  divested  themselves  of 
their  wrappers,  and  gathered  around  the  fireside. 

They  had  entreated  Mr.  Oldbuckle  to  stay  all 
night;  but  he  declared  it  to  be  impossible,  as  he  in- 
tended, he  said,  to  be  with  them  nearly  all  of  the 
next  day,  and  he  must  go  home  to  attend  to  some 
little  matters  of  business.  They  had,  therefore,  bid- 
den  him  adieu,  with  earnest  injunctions  to  "come 
early  to-morrow." 


CHAPTER    X. 

Tea -fable  Chat — Alliteration — Herbert's  Acknowledgment — Fan- 
ny's "Wish — Papa's  Consent — The  Laboratory — The  Magic  Lan- 
tern— Its  History — Lenses — The  Darkened  Room — A  Mistake 
which  was  not  a  Mistake— Optical  Illusions — Fanny  Frightened 
at  her  Shadow — Spectral  Images — Fanny's  Gratitude. 

((  "\T7"E  have  had  a  delightful  day,  thanks  to  the 
If  snow;"  said  Alice,  and  her  words  chimed 
in  musically  with  the  clicking  of  knives,  forks,  and 
spoons,  as  they  did  justice  to  the  substantial  viands 
with  which  Mrs.  Sinclair  had  bountifully  furnished 
the  tea-table. 

"  Thanks  to  Him  who  sends  the  snow,  my  dear 
Alice,"  said  her  mother. 

"  Yes,  mamma,  that  was  in  my  heart,  though  my 
tongue  employed  lighter  words." 

"  How  much  pleasure  we  can  derive,  if  we  will, 
from  the  commonest  gifts  of  a  kind  Providence," 
said  Dr.  Sinclair,  who  never  missed  a  suitable 
opportunity  of  directing  his  children's  thoughts  to 
the  goodness  of  their  Creator. 

"  We  have  had  both  science  and  sport  out  of  the 
snow,"  said  Harry. 

"Two  S's  out  of  one — eh,  my  boys'?"  said  his 
father,  noticing  Harry's  alliteration. 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  103 

"  And  how  has  my  young  guest  enjoyed  himself 
to-day  ?"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair,  addressing  Herbert  Rus- 
sel,  whose  happy  looks  were,  however,  a  very  plain 
index  of  the  pleasure  he  felt  in  his  heart. 

"More  than  I  can  tell  you,  Mrs.  Sinclair,"  was 
Herbert's  immediate  reply.  "I  ought  to  be  very 
happy,  with  such  kind  friends  and  so  many  sources 
of  enjoyment." 

"Much  of  your  happiness  is  in  your  own  frank 
and  ingenuous  nature,  my  young  friend,"  rejoined 
Mrs.  Sinclair;  "you  intend  to  be  happy,  and  that 
gives  zest  to  every  pleasure,  and  takes  away  the  edge 
from  pain." 

"  Yes,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  our  happiness  or  un- 
happiness  depends  very  much  upon  ourselves.  If  we 
resolve  and  try  to  be  happy,  there  are  comparatively 
few  conditions  of  life  which  are  proof  against  such  a 
purpose;  while,  on  the  contrary,  the  most  joyous 
and  delightful  circumstances  fail  to  yield  satisfaction 
to  the  discontented  and  fretful  spirit.  Cultivate,  my 
children,  a  cheerful  and  buoyant  disposition.  Shut 
your  eyes  to  the  dark  side  of  every  picture,  if  it  is 
sometimes  placed  before  you ;  but  be  sure  and  keep 
them  wide  open  when  the  bright  side  is  in  view — 
just  as  if  looking  at  it  eagerly  would  keep  it  always 
visible." 

After  a  brief  silence,  Fanny  looked  up  into  her 
papa's  face,  as  if  she  would  very  much  like  to  ask  a 
question. 


104  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  Well,  Fan,  what  is  it,  my  little  daughter  ?"  said 
her  father,  by  way  of  encouragement. 

""Papa,  I  want  to  ask  a  great  favour !" 

"  A  great  favour,  eh  ?  I  think  I  must  grant  it, 
then."  ' 

"  Oh !  if  you  will,  papa,  I  shall  be  so  glad." 

"  But  what  is  it,  Fanny  ?" 

"  To  let  us  see  the  '  Magic  London '  to-night." 

"  The  magic  what,  Fan  ?"  said  Harry,  with  a  loud 
laugh  at  the  little  girl's  mistake. 

"Papa  called  it  the  magic  London — didn't  you, 
papa?"  said  Fanny,  a  little  discomfited  by  the 
laughter. 

"  Not  magic  London,  my  child ;  I  called  it  a  magic 
lantern,  which  I  probably  told  you  came  from  Lon- 
don." 

"Well,  papa,  the  magic  lantern,  then;  will  you 
show  it  to  us  to-night  ?" 

"  Fanny,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  has  more  than  once 
asked  me  to  let  her  see  some  beautiful  pictures  which 
I  have  lately  received,  and  I  think  I  must  gratify  her 
to-night." 

"  Yes,  papa,"  said  the  now  delighted  child,  "  and 
you  promised  me  that  when  brother  Harry  came 
home  from  school,  you  would  show  them  to  me. 
Oh !  I  am  so  glad,"  and  she  jumped  about  in  childish 
glee. 

The  little  girl  was  quite  impatient  until  the  hour 
came  for  this  new  pleasure  to  be  enjoyed,  and  perhaps 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  105 

the  older  children  shared  her  impatience,  though  they 
did  not  give  it  expression. 

As  soon  as  tea  was  over,  they  all  repaired  to  the 
library,  which  was  to  be  the  scene  of  the  promised 
amusement.  Beneath  the  library,  and  accessible  by 
a  stair-case  opening  from  it,  was  Dr.  Sinclair's  labora- 
tory. Lest  any  of  my  little  readers  should  not  know 
what  the  word  laboratory  means,  I  will  tell  them  that 
it  is  a  place  where  chemists  keep  their  instruments 
and  perform  their  experiments.  Into  this  room,  Dr. 
Sinclair  and  Harry  descended,  and  in  a  few  moments 
returned  with  their  hands  full.  The  former  bore 
what  resembled  a  large  black  tea-canister,  only  that 
a  sort  of  spout  extended  from  one  side,  and  a  bent 
funnel  from  the  top.  This  was  placed  upon  a  small 
table,  and  beside  it,  Harry  laid  a  box  which  he  car- 
ried very  carefully. 

Herbert  did  not  need  that  Alice  should  tell  him 
that  the  black  canister  was  a  magic  lantern.  He  had 
seen  it  several  times  before,  and  had  witnessed  an  ex- 
hibition of  it  in  the  city,  but  of  its  construction  and 
principles,  as  also  of  its  origin,  he  knew  nothing  at  all. 

Dr.  Sinclair  then  asked  Mary  to  fetch  him  a  clean 
white  table-cloth,  which,  with  Harry's  aid,  he  fastened 
against  the  book-shelves,  so  as  to  make  a  large, 
smooth  surface.  He  now  placed  the  table  upon 
which  the  lantern  stood  in  front  of  the  cloth,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  about  ten  feet,  while  the  children  pressed 
eagerly  around  to  watch  his  proceedings.  From  the 


100  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

interior  of  the  lantern,  he  took  a  handsome  brass 
lamp  with  a  glass  chimney  over  its  round  wick. 
Filling  the  lamp  with  oil,  he  lighted  it  and  replaced 
it  in  the  lantern,  where  it  soon  burned  brilliantly. 
Having  done  all  this,  he  said  to  Harry  : 

"  Well,  my  son,  do  you  know  who  invented  the 
magic  lantern,  and  at  what  period  ?" 

"  No,  papa,  I  do  not,"  was  Harry's  frank  confes- 
sion ;  "  but  I  wish  you  would  tell  me,  if  you  please." 

"  Your  sister  will  do  that,  I  am  sure,"  he  said ;  and 
looking  at  Alice,  he  added,  "will  you  not  answer  my 
question  for  your  brother,  my  daughter  ?" 

"  That  I  will,  with  pleasure,"  said  the  blushing  girl, 
"for  you  told  me  yourself,  some  time  ago,  that  it 
was  in  vented  by  a  learned  monk,  called  Father  Kircher, 
about  the  year  1656." 

"  Very  true,  my  daughter ;  and  to  what  purpose 
was  it  applied  for  many  years  ?" 

"  To  deceive  the  people,  who  were  ignorant  enough 
to  believe  that  the  apparitions  and  spectres  produced 
by  it  were  supernatural ;  and  that,  undoubtedly,  was 
the  reason  that  it  came  to  be  called  the  magic  lan- 
tern." 

Herbert  looked  with  undisguised  interest  upon  the 
beautiful  girl  who,  scarcely  one  year  his  senior,  was 
thus  teaching  him  things  he  had  never  heard  of  until 
now.  His  attention  was  next  arrested  by  Dr.  Sin- 
clair's removing  from  the  inside  of  the  lantern  a 
broad  ring  of  brass,  on  which  was  fastened  a  piece 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME,  107 

of  thick  glass,  round  on  one  side  and  flat  on  the  other. 
This  he  called  a  lens,  and  asked  Alice  if  she  knew 
why  it  bore  that  name.  I  think  Herbert  was  more 
than  naif  pleased  to  hear  her  confess  that  she  could 
not  tell;  for  although  he  admired  her  superior  intelli- 
gence and  knowledge,  he  could  not  help  feeling  a 
little  ashamed  by  the  consciousness  of  it.  It  is  just 
to  our  young  friend  to  say,  however,  that  his  igno- 
rance of  many  things  which  were  familiar  to  Alice 
Sinclair,  was  no  real  reproach  to  him.  His  studies 
had  been  different  from  Alice's,  and  in  some  branches 
of  knowledge  he  had  the  advantage  of  her. 

Dr.  Sinclair  enlightened  the  group  by  telling  them 
that  the  lens  took  its  name  from  the  lentil,  a  sort  of 
bean  which  it  resembled  in  shape. 

"  What  is  the  use  of  a  lens  7"  asked  the  Doctor. 

"  To  collect  or  to  scatter  the  rays  of  light,"  replied 
Alice. 

"  Well  answered,  Alice,"  said  her  father ;  "  and 
now  let  us  look  at  two  lenses  in  this  tube." 

As  he  spoke  he  drew  out  from  the  tube  at  the  side 
of  the  lantern  a  cylinder  of  brass,  on  the  end  of  which 
he  showed  the  young  people  two  lenses  not  so  large 
as  the  one  they  had  already  seen,  and  both  of  them 
round  on  both  sides.  These  he  described  to  them  as 
double  convex  glasses.  He  next  took  from  the  box, 
which  Harry  had  deposited  so  carefully  upon  the 
table,  a  number  of  long  and  slender  frames  made  of 
wood>  in  which  were  placed  at  intervals  circular  pieces, 


108  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

or  discs,  of  glass,  upon  some  of  which  were  painted 
very  curious  and  beautiful  pictures,  while  upon  others 
there  were  representations  of  the  planets  and  of  the 
stars. 

Harry,  by  his  father's  direction,  now  turned  down 
the  lamp,  and  placed  a  screen  before  the  fire  which 
glowed  in  the  chimney,  so  as  to  make  the  library  as 
dark  as  possible.  Fanny  thought  these  proceedings 
of  Harry's  were  very  strange,  but  the  others  were 
quick  enough  to  see  the  need  of  them. 

The  hush  of  expectation  succeeded  these  busy  and 
interesting  preparations.  Mrs.  Sinclair  took  a  chair, 
and  Fanny  nestled  closely  to  her  mamma's  side. 
The  others  stood  by  the  table  to  observe  all  that  Dr. 
Sinclair  did.  As  he  was  putting  one  of  the  slender 
frames  into  the  lantern,  Harry  stopped  him  with  an 
eager  exclamation — 

"  Why,  papa,  what  a  mistake !  You  are  putting 
in  that  man  upside  down !" 

"  So  I  am,  my  young  philosopher — thank  you  for 
your  attention." 

So  saying,  he  turned  the  figure  right  side  up,  and 
putting  it  into  a  narrow  space  between  the  lenses 
already  described,  he  closed  the  door  of  the  lantern, 
and  the  library  was  immediately  shrouded  in  com 
plete  darkness,  so  that  Fanny  clung  still  closer  to 
her  mamma.  In  a  moment,  however,  Dr.  Sinclair 
removed  a  cap  from  the  end  of  the  tube,  and  a  shout 
of  wonder  was  raised,  as  there  appeared  upon  the 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  109 

white  screen,  the  figure  of  a  sailor  dancing  a  hornpipe 
upon  his  head . 

"  Why,  Harry,  the  man  would'nt  stay  on  his  feet, 
it  seems.  See,  he  is  upside  down,  still,"  said  his 
father  in  a  laughing  tone. 

Harry  looked  exceedingly  puzzled,  and  was  silent; 
but  Alice  immediately  said — 

"  Oh !  papa,  I  remember  that  Mrs.  Marcet  taught 
me  that  the  images  of  objects  seen  through  convex 
glasses  are  turned  upside  down,  and,  therefore,  you 
put  in  the  slide  right  side  up  just  to  give  Harry  a 
lesson.  Ha !  ha !  papa,  wasn't  that  it  ?" 

Dr.  Sinclair  confessed  that  it  was  so,  and  changing 
quickly  the  position  of  the  slide,  there  appeared  a 
vivid  representation  of  a  sailor  dancing,  just  as  my 
little  readers  may  see  in  the  accompanying  picture. 

Many  curious  subjects  were  then  shown  in  succes- 
sion, and  the  house  rung  with  glee  as  a  little  girl 
danced  with  a  wreath  of  flowers  for  a  skipping-rope, 
which  alternately  passed  over  her  head  and  under  her 
feet,  or  at  least  appeared  to  do  so.  The  Doctor 
showed  them  that  this  was  an  optical  illusion.  There 
were  two  figures  and  two  wreaths  in  different  pos- 
tures on  different  pieces  of  glass,  and  by  sliding  first 
one  and  then  the  other  backward  and  forward,  the 
wreath  seemed  to  pass  completely  round  the  girl. 
By  the  same  plan  a  rose-bud  was  made  to  expand 
into  a  full-blown  rose,  and  a  caterpillar  to  change, 
first  into  a  chrysalis,  and  then  into  a  butterfly,  which 


110  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OB, 

fluttered  its  wings  and  then  vanished.  Another  very 
charming  picture  was  the  interior  of  a  cave,  partially 
illuminated  by  the  light  of  a  full  moon.  It  was  the 
hiding-place  of  a  band  of  smugglers,  who  were 
dragging  a  boat,  laden  with  their  illicit  goods,  into 
the  mouth  of  the  cavern  which  opened  from  the 
•water. 

After  many  such  representations,  Dr.  Sinclair  pro- 
posed to  show  them  a  portrait  of  Fanny,  and  several 
voices  exclaimed : 

"  Oh !  that  will  be  charming  indeed !"  while  little 
Fanny,  herself,  looked  not  a  little  incredulous,  and 
said : 

"  But,  dear  papa,  you  can't  put  me  into  that  black 
tube !" 

While  the  merry  group  was  laughing  at  Fanny's 
naivete,  Dr.  Sinclair  pushed  the  table  nearer  the  wall, 
and,  after  a  moment's  darkness,  there  appeared  on 
the  screen  a  very  beautiful  and  striking  portrait  of 
Fanny — so  like,  that  all  were  startled  by  it  and 
gazed  in  silence — until  its  sweet  blue  eyes  began  to 
move,  when  a  shout  of  delight  burst  from  every  lip. 
Then  immediately  the  little  hand  was  raised  and 
a  finger  laid  on  the  red  lips,  when  in  spite  of  the 
injunction  to  silence  which  it  seemed  to  make,  there 
was  such  a  peal  of  merriment  that  Jacob  Fletcher 
came  running  in,  and  when  the  old  man  saw  the 
speaking,  moving  likeness  of  his  little  favourite,  he 
said,  in  some  alarm — 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  Ill 

"  Why,  bless  us,  dear  master,  that  must  be  Fanny's 
angel !" 

At  that  moment  Dr.  Sinclair  took  the  lantern  in 
his  hands,  and  withdrawing  from  the  screen  some 
paces,  the  image  suddenly  increased  in  size  and 
appeared  to  rush  upon  the  beholders,  some  of  whom 
were  frightened ;  so  much  that  they  were  heartily 
laughed  at  for_  being  afraid  of  little  Fanny — and 
Fanny,  herself,  was  actually  frightened  by  her  own 
shadow ! 

Her  father  then  explained  to  the  young  people  that 
as  convex  lenses  make  rays  of  light  spread,  those 
which  proceeded  from  the  face  upon  the  slide,  through 
the  two  lenses  in  the  tube,  would  cover  a  space  on 
the  screen  proportional  to  the  distance  of  the  lantern 
from  it ;  and  he  illustrated  it  again  by  carrying  the 
lantern  close  up  to  the  wall  and  making  a  very  small 
bright  image;  and  then,  by  going  to  the  other  side 
of  the  room,  the  face  covered  not  only  the  screen  but 
the  whole  wall. 

Alice  asked  her  father  how  the  monks  used  to  pro- 
duce spectral  appearances  by  means  of  the  magic 
lantern,  and  he  replied  that  one  method  was  to  cast 
the  image  of  a  spectre,  from  a  concealed  lantern,  upon 
the  semi-transparent  vapour  or  smoke  ascending  from 
burning  incense.  The  shifting  motions  of  the  smoKe 
gave  a  fearfully  real  appearance  to  the  image  which  it 
reflected  to  the  terrified,  and,  of  course,  not  very  criti 
cal  eyes  of  the  beholder.  Much  more  curious  infor- 


112  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

malion  was  imparted  than  I  have  space  to  record; 
during  that  pleasant  evening  with  the  Magic  Lantern, 
which  was  terminated,  like  all  the  evenings  at  Beech- 
wood,  with  family  worship. 

As  little  Fanny  that  night  knelt  at  her  mother's 
knee  to  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer,  she  looked  up  into 
the  loving  face  which  beamed  so  kindly  upon  her, 
and  said,  in  her  simple  manner, 

"  Isn't  God  good,  dear  mamma,  to  make  your  little 
Fanny  so  happy  to-night  ?" 


CHAPTER    XI. 

The  ArrivrJ — Gertrude  Vivian's  Welcome — Her  Dilemma— Mr. 
Oldbackle— Fire-works— The  Relations  of  Pyrotechny  to 
Science — History  of  Fire-works — A  Sad  Story — Memorable 
Displays — Ixion's  Wheel — Mr.  Oldbuckle's  Apology. 

1  BOUT  eleven  o'clock  the  next  morning,  the  young 
j\  people,  who  were  amusing  themselves  with  books 
in  the  library,  heard  a  musical  jingling  of  bells  upon 
the  lawn,  and  before  they  could  reach  the  front  steps, 
the  expected  party  from  Viviandale  had  alighted 
from  the  cutter  and  were  just  entering  the  door  under 
William  Sinclair's  escort.  Gertrude  Vivian  and  her 
brother  Edward  received  the  cordial  greetings  of 
all  the  family,  and  were  very  soon  as  much  at  home 
in  the  charming  library,  as  if,  in  Gertrude's  own  words, 
"it  was  the  twentieth  instead  of  the  first  time  they 
had  been  there." 

"  You  can  scarcely  be  more  welcome  when  you 
do  enter  it  for  the  twentieth  time,  my  dear  Miss 
Vivian,"  was  Dr.  Sinclair's  kind  remark. 

"I  hope,  sir,"  she  added  naively,  "you  intend  to 
like  me  better  when  you  know  me  better,  for  they 
can  not  be  very  worthy  people  who  do  not  improve 
upon  acquaintance." 

"I  have  no  doubt,"  he  replied,  with  a  pleasant 


114  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

smile,  "that  I  shall  know  more  of  your  loveabla 
qualities,  my  dear  Miss  Gertrude;  but  even  now  1 
give  you  credit  for  possessing  them,  and  welcome 
you  as  if  I  had  already  more  than  realized  my 
expectations." 

"You  are  too  generous,  sir,  I  fear.  I  may  disap- 
point you  sadly." 

"  Don't  tell  her,  Dr.  Sinclair,"  interposed  Edward 
Vivian,  "  that  you  can  not  believe  it  possible,  or  you 
will  make  her  altogether  too  vain,"  and  turning  to 
his  sister,  whom  he  loved  with  a  warm  and  deep 
affection,  he  added — 

"I  fear  I  shall  have  to  disenchant  our  kind  host, 
Gerty  !" 

"Oh!  no,  Edward;  let  time  and  circumstances 
alone  break  the  spell.  Give  me  all  the  respite  you 
can,"  was  her  laughing  reply. 

"  Well,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  the  day  must  be  very 
far  off  when  Gertrude  Vivian  will  not  be  welcomed 
to  Beechwood,  with  quite  as  much  cordiality  as  she 
is  now." 

Gertrude  blushed  her  thanks,  and  a  deeper  flush 
suddenly  overspread  her  face,  as  she  caught  the  eye 
of  William  Sinclair  gazing  upon  her  with  eloquent 
tokens  of  his  unaffected  though  unspoken  sympathy 
with  the  general  and  unlooked-for  welcome  she  had 
received. 

Alice  was  at  her  side,  prompt  to  show  the  gentle 
and  affectionate  courtesies  which  so  much  delight  a 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  115 

guest.  Gertrude  exerted  herself  to  respond  to  all 
the  tokens  of  interest  manifested  toward  her.  Nor 
was  the  task  a  difficult  one.  She  soon  discovered 
the  interior  loveliness  of  Beechwood,  and  gave  herself 
up,  with  a  delightful  abandonment,  to  the  happy  and 
demonstrative  humour  of  its  inmates. 

She  listened  with  real  interest  to  Alice's  account 
of  their  various  amusements  and  studies,  and  said 
that  nothing  could  give  her  more  pleasure  than  to 
take  part  in  just  such  scenes  and  sports.  She  had 
enjoyed  the  best  advantages  of  education.  I  say 
enjoyed,  not  meaning  simply  that  they  had  been 
provided  for  her  to  enjoy,  but  that  with  rare  good 
sense  she  had  so  improved  them,  as  to  have  found 
them  an  ample  and  still  abundant  source  of  delight. 
She  had  studied  diligently,  and  had  not  only  two 
years'  advantage  of  our  favourite  Alice  in  years,  but 
had  acquired  habits  of  reflection  and  of  independent 
thought,  from  generous  rivalry  with  many  others  of 
her  own  age  with  whom  she  had  been  associated  at 
school.  Alice  had  never  been  away  from  home  for 
the  purpose  of  study,  and  although  her  mind  was 
active  and  healthful,  it  had  developed  as  yet,  more  of 
grace  than  vigour,  under  the  delicate  preceptorship 
of  Miss  Maurice.  These  lessons  with  the  boys, 
gathered  from  the  daily  walks  and  events  of  life, 
were  doing  a  good  work  for  her.  They  were  unfold 
ing  the  yet  embryo  powers  of  her  judgment,  and 
were  bringing  into  vigorous  exercise,  the  very  gifts 


110  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

which  her  secluded  education  had  suffered  to  lie  dor- 
mant. 

Gertrude  Vivian  manifested  no  assumed  delight 
when  she  exclaimed,  after  a  full  inspection  of  the 
treasures  of  the  library, 

"Oh!  what  a  little  paradise  this  must  be.  If  I 
were  an  angel  even,  I  could  be  content  to  have  my 
wings  clipped,  so  that  this  might  be  my  abiding 
place ;"  and  then,  catching  William  Sinclair's  eye  a 
second  time,  she  added,  with  slight  confusion,  "and  I 
would  shut  myself  up  all  alone  with  my  priceless 
treasures." 

"Surely  not  alone,  Gerty?"  said  her  brother. 

"Oh!  you  might  come,  occasionally,  if  you  would 
promise  not  to  disturb  me." 

"And  no  one  'else?"  said  Dr.  Sinclair.  "You 
wouldn't  repay  my  care  and  toil  in  furnishing  it  by 
excluding  me,  I  am  sure!" 

Gertrude  found  herself  in  a  little  dilemma.  Her 
remark,  which  was  designed  to  cover  a  slight  con- 
sciousness of  William  Sinclair's  eager  interest  in  her 
words,  was  an  unfortunate  one.  It  seemed  selfish, 
and  as  soon  as  she  perceived  it  she  hastened  to  dis- 
claim the  sentiment,  and  replied  gaily  to  her  host's 
question, 

"Certainly  not,  sir.  I  should  want  you  to  be 
sitting  always  in  your  arm-chair,  the  real  genius  loci." 

"Thank  you  for  the  pretty  compliment,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair,  bowing  low. 


PHILOSOPHY   Ar    HOME.  117 

"Then  you  wouldn't  be  alone,  Miss  Vivian,"  said 
William. 

"Oh!  I  didn't  mean  that,  I  couldn't  mean  it,"  was 
her  eager  reply.  "I  should  want  you  all  here,  just 
as  you  are  now.  My  rhapsody  was  certainly  a  very 
foolish  one,  and  I  am  punished  for  it  by  having  to 
retract  it." 

The  morning  was  beguiled  by  such  like  pleasant 
conversation,  among  the  many  delightful  accessories 
of  the  library.  Just  before  the  dinner  hour,  the 
merry  sound  of  sleigh-bells  again  drew  some  of  the 
party  to  the  window,  and  Herbert  exclaimed, 

"Alice!  Alice,  here  comes  Mr.  Oldbuckle." 

Alice  hastened  to  greet  him,  scarcely  stopping  to 
notice,  with  any  thing  more  than  a  gratified  smile, 
Gertrude's  remark  as  she  heard  his  name, 

"Oh!  Alice,  I  was  quite  delighted  with  your  quaint 
old  friend." 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  was  followed  up  the  steps  by  a 
waiting-man  who  carried  a  box,  which  he  was  in- 
structed to  set  down  just  within  the  hall. 

"I  have  brought"  said  the  old  gentleman  to  Dr. 
Sinclair,  as  he  approached  to  greet  him,  "a  Christmas 
contribution  in  the  shape  of  fire-works,  which  I 
thought  would  afford  the  young  people  some  amuse- 
ment, and  perhaps  some  instruction  for  Christmas 
Eve." 

"  Oh !  thank  yo  i,  thank  you,  dear  Mr.  Oldbuckle," 

said  two  or  three  eager  voices,  and  more  than  twice 
6 


118  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

that,  number  of  sparkling  eyes,  while  Dr.  Sinclair 
replied, 

"Really  my  dear  sir,  I  know  not  how  to  thank  you 
for  your  kindness  to  my  little  flock.  I  never  thought 
until  this  morning  of  these  indispensable  accompani- 
ments of  Christinas  Eve  festivity,  and  I  was  even 
now  reproaching  myself  with  not  having  thought  of 
them  in  season  to  have  made  provision.  Your  fore- 
thought and  your  goodness  are  equal  upon  this  occa- 
sion, and  I  welcome  this  plethoric  box  with  a  cordial 
pleasure." 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  seemed  highly  gratified  that  his  pre- 
sent was  so  acceptable  to  all,  and  he  said  triumphantly, 

"I  am  glad  that  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  think 
of  what  you  forgot." 

The  young  people  were  exceedingly  pleased  with 
the  prospect  of  amusement  for  the  night,  and  Harry 
could  scarcely  refrain  from  letting  liis  exuberant 
feelings  and  anticipations  vent  themselves  in  boister- 
ous shouts. 

At  the  dinner-table  the  conversation  naturally 
turned  upon  the  subject  of  fire-works.  Mr.  Oldbuckle 
asked  Alice  if  she  knew  any  thing  of  the  origin  of 
these  ingenious  and  beautiful  contrivances.  Alico 
was  obliged  to  acknowledge  that  she  did  not,  so  hex 
questioner  supplied  the  information  that  they  wero 
probably  invented  by  the  Chinese,  who  have  cer 
tainly  known  and  used  them,  in  some  forms,  foa 
many  centuries. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  119 

"I  believe,"  said  Edward  Vivian,  "that  the  first 
public  display  of  fire-works  recorded  in  authentic  an- 
nals, was  made  at  Florence,  five  hundred  years  ago." 

"Yes,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  and  almost  from  that 
time  to  the  present,  they  have  constituted  a  very 
important  part  of  the  pageantry  of  royal  or  popular 
celebrations." 

"The  Florentine  show  to  which  you  alluded,  Mr. 
Vivian,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  must  have  been  very 
insignificant,  in  comparison  with  those  which  are  got 
up  on  great  occasions,  now-a-days." 

"Doubtless  it  was,  for  they  had  then  comparatively 
few  forms  of  fire- works ;  and  for  two  or  three  centu- 
ries subsequently  they  made  no  great  advances  in  the 
art  of  pyrotechny." 

"Herbert,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "you  can  probably 
give  us  the  etymology  of  the  term  Mr.  Vivian  has 
just  employed." 

"It  is  a  Greek  compound,  sir,  of  pur  meaning  fire, 
and  techne  signifying  art." 

"  Precisely,  and  pyrotechny  means  the  art  of  fire, 
that  is,  of  producing  and  managing  fire,  but  the  term 
is  now  generally  confined  to  the  art  of  making  fire- 
works." 

"I  have  heard  pyrotechny  called  a  science,  sir," 
said  Herbert. 

"Yes,  and  it  is  properly  so  called,  for  it  investi- 
gates the  laws  and  properties  of  artificial  fire,  and 
contrives  combinations  according  to  them." 


120  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"It  is  sometimes  claimed  as  a  mathematical  science, 
is  it  not,  sir]"  said  William  Sinclair. 

"It  is,  but  belongs  rather  to  chemistry,  I  think," 
replied  his  father. 

"  Its  relations  to  mathematics,  however,  are  very 
clear  and  important,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle.  "It  has 
to  do  with  measures  and  proportions." 

"We  may  claim  it  then  for  mechanics,"  said  Ed- 
ward Vivian,  "  upon  the  plea  that  it  involves  forces, 
directions  of  motion,  etc." 

"And  for  optics,"  said  William  Sinclair,  "because 
it  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  organs  of  vision,  at 
least  in  its  effect ;  so  that  it  may  be  said  of  it,  in  vul- 
gar parlance,  'It  is  all  in  my  eye.' " 

This  humorous  claim  for  the  relationship  of  Pyro- 
techny,  was  acknowledged  by  all  with  hearty  laughter ; 
and  then  Dr.  Sinclair  turned  to  Miss  Vivian,  and 
asked  her  which  of  the  sciences  she  would  connect  it 
with. 

"  Oh !  with  Astronomy,  by  all  means,"  was  her 
quick  reply  ;  "  for  does  it  not  reveal  to  us  suns  and 
stars,  and  fiery  comets,  and  all  sorts  of  blazing  por- 
tents?" 

"  Your  claim  is  very  well  made  out,  indeed,  Miss 
Vivian,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  and  between  us  all,  it 
does  not  seem  likely  that  the  art — or  science,  rather 
— of  Pyrotechny,  is  in  any  danger  of  being  disowned 
of  the  philosophic  family." 

"  Do   you  recollect,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  the 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  121 

terrible  catastrophe  which  terminated  the  grand  dis- 
play of  fire-works  that  was  contrived  at  Paris,  ic 
honour  of  the  nuptials  of  Louis  the  Sixteenth  1" 

"  Now  that  you  mention  it,  I  recall  the  nature  o/ 
the  calamity,"  replied  Dr.  Sinclair. 

"  What  was  it,  papa  ?"  said  Alice. 

"  He  was  married  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  age, 
to  the  unfortunate  but  beautiful  Marie  Antoinette. 
The  event  occurred  on  the  16th  of  May,  1770,  and 
was  celebrated  with  the  most  magnificent  pomp  and 
festivities.  During  the  exhibition  of  the  fire-works,  a 
vast  quantity  of  prepared  pieces,  intended  to  take 
the  places  of  others  previously  put  up,  were  ignited 
by  a  misdirected  rocket,  and  exploded  with  fearful 
violence,  scattering  death  in  every  direction.  A  very 
great  number  of  the  spectators — some  say  a  thou- 
sand— were  either  instantly  killed,  or  so  badly  burned 
and  crushed  that  they  died." 

"  Oh !  how  terrible !"  said  Miss  Vivian.  "  It  must 
have  clouded  not  only  the  marriage,  but  the  whole 
life  of  the  royal  pair." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  would  have  been  always 
a  shadow  upon  the  heart  of  the  fair  queen,  had  not 
personal  sorrows  pressed  upon  her  with  a  deeper  and 
darker  sense  of  wo,"  replied  Dr.  Sinclair. 

"  Who  of  us  can  remember  other  great  occasions 
upon  which  memorable  displays  of  fire-works  were 
made  ?" 

"At  the  peace  of  Aix  la   Chapel! e,  concluded 


122  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

between  France  and  England,  in  1745,"  said  Miss 
Vivian. 

"  At  the  general  peace  of  England  and  her  allies 
with  France,  which  was  made  in  1814,"  said  William 
Sinclair. 

"  At  the  passage  of  the  Reform  Bill  in  London,  in 
1832,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  At  the  reception  of  Lafayette  in  New- York,  in 
1824,"  said  Alice. 

"  At  the  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista, 
in  the  same  city,  in  1847,"  said  Herbert. 

"And  now  for  your  instance,  Harry,"  said  his 
father. 

"  I  shall  make  mine  prophetic,  sir,  with  your  per- 
mission and  say — 

"At  Beechwood  on  Christmas  Eve,  1852,  upon 
the  occasion  of  a  visit  from  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  Miss 
Vivian,  and  other  illustrious  guests." 

"  The  defection  of  your  memory  shall  be  forgiven, 
my  boy,  on  account  of  your  well-timed  wit." 

The  whole  company  applauded  Harry's  instance, 
and  he  declared  that  he  could  hardly  have  felt 
prouder,  had  he  been  Lafayette  or  General  Taylor 
himself. 

"  It  is  noticeable,"  said  Edward  Vivian,  "  that  the 
names  of  the  two  most  famous  places  for  the  display 
uf  fire-works  at  the  present  day,  in  England  and  in 
France,  begin  with  V;  the  French  Versailles  and 
the  English  Vauxhall." 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  123 

"  I  was  present,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  at  a  fete; 
given  two  or  three  years  since,  at  Campden  Hill, 
Kensington,  upon  the  birth-day  of  the  Earl  of  Rosse, 
whose  great  telescope  has  made  his  name  famous  in 
both  hemispheres.  The  fire- works  upon  that  occasion 
were  exceedingly  magnificent,  both  in  the  variety  and 
novelty  of  the  designs ;  but  nothing  pleased  me  so 
much  as  a  representation  of  the  beautiful  myth  of 
Ixion's  wheel." 

"  I  can  readily  imagine,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  that 
such  a  striking  subject  might  be  most  effectively  dis- 
played." 

"  The  body  of  Ixion  was  represented  in  pale  fire, 
upon  a  revolving  wheel  of  deep  crimson  light,  while 
fiery  and  hissing  serpents  enveloped  him  in  their 
snaky  folds." 

"  I  think  it  must  have  been  a  sight  rather  terrible 
than  pleasing,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair ;  an  opinion  in 
which  Gertrude  and  Alice  coincided,  while  the  boys 
thought  it  must  have  been  "  very  grand,"  and  ex- 
pressed their  impatience  for  the  advent  of  the  friendly 
darkness. 

"  You  must  not  expect  too  much  of  my  poor  con- 
tribution,  Master  Harry,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle.  "  I 
shall  not  frighten  the  ladies  with  the  Ixion  of  Camp- 
den,  nor  amaze  them  with  the  grand  allegorical 
tableau  of  peace,  at  the  celebration  in  1814.  I  have 
but  a  modest  collection  of  rockets,  and  wheels,  and 
courantines,  ar  d  candles,  with  something,"  he  added, 


124  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

looking  significantly  at  Alice,  "which  shall  find  a 
name  from  your  own  lips,  my  bird,  when  it  comes 
off." 

"  Do  not  be  too  impatient  for  night  to  come, 
Harry,"  said  his  brother,  "  for  it  will  take  us  some 
time  to  make  suitable  arrangements  to  display  the 
fire-works  to  advantage." 

"Yes,  and  we  shall  find  something  for  you  and 
Herbert  to  do  in  our  service  this  afternoon,"  said  Mr. 
Oldbuckle. 

The  boys  both  declared  themselves  ready  to  do 
any  thing  in  their  power,  and  begged  that  they  might 
have  a  full  share  in  the  preparations.  Mrs.  Sinclair 
now  rose,  and  the  whole  party  left  the  table  and  re- 
turned to  the  library. 

The  gentlemen  did  not,  however,  spare  much  time 
from  the  important  work  they  had  before  them,  and 
were  soon  busily  occupied  out  of  doors. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Preparations  for  the  Fire-works — Waiting  for  the  Darkness — 
Amusement  for  the  Interval — Playing  Proverbs — Nine  o'clock. 

rPHE  spot  chosen  for  the  exhibition  of  the  fire-works 
1  was  upon  the  lawn,  almost  beneath  the  great  tower- 
window  of  the  library.  It  was  selected  to  afford  the 
ladies  a  good  view,  without  exposing  them  to  the 
cold  air  and  the  snow-covered  ground.  A  ligh; 
frame- work  was  erected  for  the  wheels,  candles,  and 
some  other  pieces.  From  this,  also,  to  an  adjacent 
tree,  were  stretched  light  ropes,  on  which  the  couran- 
tines  or  running-rockets  were  to  move.  The  prepara- 
tions were  not  very  elaborate,  but  they  were  made 
with  care  to  ensure,  as  far  as  possible,  the  perfect 
discharge  of  the  fireworks. 

As  the  moon  was  near  the  end  of  her  first  quarter, 
her  light,  especially  with  the  bright  reflection  of  the 
snow,  was  too  great  in  the  early  part  of  the  night, 
not  to  have  impaired  the  effect  of  the  fireworks.  It 
was  therefore  resolved  to  delay  the  exhibition  until 
nine  o'clock,  by  which  time  the  fair  queen  of  night 
would  be  about  retiring  from  the  scene,  and  as  Mr. 
Oldbuckle  said,  would 

"Leave  the  world  to  darkness  and  to— us." 


126  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OK, 

As  there  was  a  long  interval  between  tea-time  and 
the  hour  named,  various  parlour  amusements  were 
proposed.  Miss  Vivian  pleaded  for  another  charade- 
play,  Alice  having  told  her  of  the  one  which  was 
performed  a  few  evenings  before.  Mrs.  Sinclair, 
nowever,  having  laboured  all  day  under  a  slight  in- 
disposition, declared  herself  unequal  to  the  task  of 
acting,  and  suggested  that  Miss  Vivian  herself  would 
be  an  admirable  substitute  ;  the  latter  declined,  and 
it  was  finally  arranged  that  a  charade-play  should  be 
the  order  for  the  next  night,  and  that  the  broken 
evening  before  them  should  be  devoted  to  the  play  of 
Proverbs.  This  amusing  and  instructive  game  was 
not  familiar  to  the  circle  at  Beechwood.  Miss  Vivian 
and  her  brother  were  the  only  ones  who  had  partici- 
pated in  the  play,  but  they  very  soon  made  the 
method  clear  to  the  perception  of  all. 

Edward  Vivian  was  named  by  his  sister  as  th« 
first  to  guess  a  proverb,  and  he  cheerfully  assented, 
pleading  only,  as  he  left  the  comfortable  library,  that 
they  would  not  consign  him  long  to  the  cold  and  his 
own  miserable  companionship. 

"  Oh !  as  for  the  cold,  Mr.  Vivian,  you  can  go  into 
the  dining-room,  where  you  will  find  a  comfortable 
fire,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair. 

"  Thank  you,"'  he  replied,  "  but  I  will  stay  near  the 
door  of  the  library,  that  I  may  not  happen  to  be  out 
of  call." 

"  Ah !  you  rogue,"  said  his  sister ;  "  take  care,  how- 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  127 

ever,  that  you  do  keep  out  of  hearing  until  you  are 
called." 

He  retired,  laughing,  and  the  selection  of  a  proverb 
was  now  the  immediate  concern  of  the  party. 

"  We  must  choose  a  somewhat  rare  one  to  puzzle 
Edward,"  said  Miss  Vivian,  "for  he  is  quite  ar 
adept." 

Several  were  proposed  and  rejected  as  too  easy, 
and  Gertrude's  high  standard  seemed  little  likely 
to  be  reached,  when  Dr.  Sinclair  suggested  an  old 
proverb  :  "  The  tongue  is  not  steel,  but  it  cuts." 

"That  sounds  less  familiar  to  me  than  most  of 
those  named ;  let  us  try  it,"  said  Gertrude,  as  her 
brother's  rap  on  the  door  indicated  his  readiness,  if 
not  his  impatience,  to  be  put  to  the  trial  provided 
for  him. 

"The  proverb,"  she  continued,  "contains  eight 
•words,  and  we  are  just  eight  in  number,  not  including 
Fanny,  who  can  hardly  take  part  in  this  amusement, 
I  fancy,  though  her  eyes  do  sparkle  with  intelligence." 
Mary  had  taken  her  mamma's  counsel — to  try  and 
sleep  off  a  headache.  "  A  word  for  each  of  us,  and 
now  Edward  will  come  in  and  propose  a  question  to 
each,  in  order,  and  in  the  answer  to  the  question — 
which  should  be  as  brief  as  possible  without  actually 
endangering  the  secret — the  word  assigned  must  be 
introduced." 

The  explanation  was  understood  by  all,  and  Edward 
Vivian  was  summoned  into  the  room.  He  was 


128  CARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

directed  to  begin  with  Harry,  who  sat  nearest  to  the 
door,  and  to  continue  around  the  group. 

"  Well,  Master  Harry,"  he  began,  "  are  you  impa- 
tient for  the  hour  of  nine  to  arrive1?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  though  I  think  I  shall  like  the  present 
play  very  much,"  replied  Harry. 

"  And  how  is  it  with  you,  Mr.  Oldbuckle  ?"  said 
Edward. 

"  Your  tongue  is  ready  with  questions,  I  find,  Mr. 
Vivian." 

"  Tongue — ready,"  murmured  Edward  to  himself; 
and  then  aloud  to  his  sister, 

"  Well,  sis,  what  is  the  third  word  in  this  hidden 
proverb  ?" 

"  That  is  for  you  to  guess,  sir,"  was  the  answer. 

"Very  little  in  that  oracle — don't  you  think  so, 
Dr.  Sinclair  ?"  was  his  next  question. 

"  Not  much,  I  must  acknowledge,"  said  the  host  of 
Beechwood. 

"Will  my  dear  madam," — to  Mrs.  Sinclair — "have 
pity  on  me,  and  aid  me  in  my  quest  ?" 

"  My  heart  must  be  steel  to  refuse  such  a  petition," 
was  the  reply. 

"  It  is'nt  steel — her  heart,  I  mean — do  you  think  it 
is,  Alice  f' 

"  I  should  say  no ;  but  then  I'm  a  partial  judge, 
Mr.  Vivian." 

"  Will  your  word  afford  me  much  help,  Mastei 
Russel?" 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  129 

*  1  don'i  think  it  will,  sir,"  was  Herbert's  prompt 
answer. 

"  So,  so,  chum,  prove  yourself  my  friend,  now, 
won't  you  ?"  said  Edward  to  William  Sinclair. 

"  Certainly  I  will ;  no  true  junior  ever  cuts  hi? 
classmate." 

"  There,  Mr.  Proverbialist,  you  have  all  the  wordv 
of  our  riddle,"  said  his  sister. 

"  And  now  I  will  put  them  together  for  you,"  was 
his  response.  "  It  was  from  my  excellent  hostess  I 
first  discovered  that '  The  tongue  is  not  steel,  but  it 
cuts.'" 

"  And  the  proverb  is  verified,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair, 
"  for  it  was  the  tongue  that  cut  the  knot  of  this  rid- 
dle— was  it  not  ?"  he  added,  playfully  emphasizing  the 
negative. 

"And  now,  Mrs.  Sinclair,"  said  Edward  Vivian,  "  I 
shall  resign  my  office  and  my  guessing-cap  to  you 
by  the  laws  of  the  game." 

"  I  am  afraid,"  said  that  lady,  as  she  rose  to  go  out 
of  the  room,  "  I  shall  not  be  fortunate  enough  to 
designate  my  successor  to  the  honour.  Let  me,  there- 
fore, pray  your  clemency  in  the  choice  of  an  enigma 
for  me." 

"What  shall  it  be1?"  said  Alice,  as  her  mother 
retired ;  "  don't  let  us  choose  a  very  difficult  one,  if 
you  please." 

"Well,  Alice,  the  choice  be  yours,"  said  Miss 
Vivian. 


130  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  Oh !  Miss  Gertrude,  not  mine,  I  can't  think  of  any 
proverbs,  but — but — " 

"  But  what,  Ally  ?"  said  her  father. 

"  'All  is  not  gold  that  glitters,'  papa." 

"  Excellent,  my  bird,"  and  Alice  looked  pleased  at 
the  approval  ot  her  old  friend. 

"  The  proverb  is  not  long  enough  to  go  round," 
said  Harry. 

"  Never  mind  that,"  was  Miss  Vivian's  answer ; 
"  there  are  words  for  six  of  us — beginning  this  time 
with  Mr.  Sinclair." 

Mrs.  Sinclair  was  called  in  and  directed  to  her 
eldest  son  for  the  first  clue  to  the  labyrinth  prepared 
for  her. 

"Are  you  glad  to  get  home  again,  William  ?"  was 
her  query. 

"  I  wish  I  could  answer  all  questions  as  easily  as 
I  can  say  '  Yes'  to  that,  my  dear  mother." 

"  Is  the  first  word  in  his  answer,  Herbert  ?" 

"  Indeed  it  is,  ma'am." 

"Alice,  my  child,  you  will  help  your  mother,  I 
know?" 

"  I  should  not  be  worthy  to  be  her  child  if  I  would 
not,"  was  the  dutiful  reply. 

"  Mr.  Vivian,  you  took  the  successful  clue  from 
me;  can  I  not  possibly  bribe  you  to  return  the 
favour  r 

"  Let  me  answer  you  in  the  words  of  the  song, 
Mrs.  Sinclair — 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  131 

Seek  not  with  gold  to  bribe  me, 
Thy  smiles  are  all  I  ask.' " 

"  Shall  I  grant  him  his  request,  my  dear  ?"  said 
Mrs.  Sinclair  to  her  husband. 

"  That  question  is  too  late,  if  I  may  judge  from 
your  face,"  he  replied. 

"  Mr.  Oldbuckle — to  turn  the  subject  a  little — are 
you  fond  of  fire-works'?" 

"  Listen,  dear  madam,  to  the  words  of  the  poet/- — 

'  I  love  the  rocket's  arrowy  flight 
That  glitters  o'er  the  sea  of  night, 
And  makes  the  concave  glow  with  light.'  " 

"  If  you  are  not  enlightened  now,  my  dear  Mrs. 
Sinclair,"  said  Gertrude  Vivian,  "  you  must  begin 
your  quest  again,  for  the  proverb  is  all  unfolded." 

"  I  have  had  repeated  lessons  of  the  same  sort  in 
my  experience,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair,  "and  am  not 
inclined  to  doubt  the  truth  of  the  adage,  that  'All  is 
not  gold  that  glitters.' " 

"And  who  gave  you  the  guess-word,  mamma1?" 
said  Alice. 

"  I  ought  to  have  found  it,  I  suppose,  in  Mr.  Vivian's 
'  gold,'  but  my  dulness  was  not  penetrated,  I  confess, 
until  Mr.  Oldbuckle's  rocket  glittered  on  my  sight." 

"  Oh !  it  is  Mr.  Oldbuckle's  turn  to  go  out  then,' 
said  Harry. 

"  And  I  yield  to  my  fate,"  said  that  gentleman, 
rising  as  he  spoke. 


i32  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

Miss  Vivian  proposed  the  proverb,  "  Cut  your 
coat  according  to  your  cloth,"  and  it  was  accordingly 
chosen  and  Mr.  Oldbuckle  speedily  called  back.  He 
was  directed  to  begin  where  the  previous  proverl 
ended,  and  he,  therefore,  addressed  himself  to  Mrs. 
Sinclair,  who  had  taken  the  chair  which  he  vacated. 

"  Well,  my  dear  madam,  is  it  a  very  hard  knot 
which  I  have  to  untie]" 

"You  may  have  to  do  as  Alexander  did  with  the 
Gordian  knot — cut  it,  Mr.  Oldbuckle." 

"  Harry,  will  you  lend  me  your  knife  for  the  ope- 
ration ?" 

"  Your  scissors,  mamma,  will  suit  Mr.  Oldbuckle 
better." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  Alexander,  William  ?" 

"I  think  so  great  a  man  would  have  required  a 
very  great  coat,  especially  in  winter." 

"A  Mackintosh  probably,  eh,  Herbert  ?" 

"  That  would  hardly  have  been  according  to  the 
fashion  of  Babylon,  Mr.  Oldbuckle." 

"Are  you  going  to  sing  for  me  to-night,  my  bird  ?" 

"  Not  to-night,  Mr.  Oldbuckle,"  said  Alice. 

"  Mr.  Vivian,  the  proverb  is  a  difficult  one." 

"  Hardly,  to  your  acumen,  sir,"  replied  Edward. 

"Well,  then,  do  you  think,  Dr.  Sinclair,  that  I 
shall  be  apt  to  make  a  mistake  in  cutting  my  coat 
to-night  ?" 

"  Not,"  said  that  gentleman,  laughing,  "  if  you 
measure  the  cloth  I  shall  now  furnish  you." 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  133 

And  Mr.  Oldbuckle  was  rewarded  for  his  penetra- 
tion, by  the  approval  of  all  the  company. 

"  The  coat  will  fit  William  this  time,  I  think,"  said 
Dr.  Sinclair. 

"Yes,  it  belongs  to  him,  for  I  borrowed  it  from 
him,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  taking  the  chair  from 
which  William  now  rose  and  immediately  retired. 
After  two  or  three  proverbs  had  been  pronounced 
too  simple  it  was  agreed  to  choose  "  Faint  heart  never 
won  fair  lady,"  and  he  was  recalled. 

"  Miss  Vivian,"  he  began,  "  I  depend  upon  your 
courtesy  to  put  me  on  the  right  track  in  this  difficult 
quest." 

"  You  will  get  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  proverb  from 
my  answer,  Mr.  Sinclair." 

"  Well,  my  dear  mother,  do  you  wish  me  well  out 
of  this  labyrinth  7" 

"  With  all  my  heart,  William." 

"  Harry,  had  I  better  give  it  up  at  once,  do  you 
think?" 

"  It  will  never  do  to  give  it  up  so,  Mr.  Brown," 
a  response,  which  was  rewarded  with  a  general 
burst  of  merriment. 

"  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  can  you  tell  me  why  the  Dult 
of  Wellington  was  a  great  gamester1?" 

"  Because  he  won  the  day  at  Water-foo,  I  suppose." 

"  Well,  Herbert,  which  was  the  word  in  Mr.  Old 
buckle's  reply  7" 

"  That's  not  a  fair  question,  I  think,"  said  Herbert 


134  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  How  old  are  you,  Alice  ?" 

"  That's  a  question  you  should  never  ask  a  lady, 
brother  William." 

"Never  mind,  without  your  answer  I  know  that 
'  Faint  heart  never  won  fair  lady ;'  and  I  must  be 
ungallant  enough  to  send  Miss  Vivian  into  the  other 
room." 

"  What,"  said  that  lady,  "  did  you  guess  it  upon 
my  faint  hint  ?" 

"  Indeed  I  did ;  it  was  any  thing  but  a  faint  hint  to 
me,  many  thanks ;"  and  he  took  the  chair  which  she 
resigned. 

The  proverb  now  selected  was,  "  Strike  while  the 
iron  is  hot." 

Miss  Vivian  was  very  soon  called  in  again,  and 
addressing  her  brother,  who,  in  due  turn,  had  the 
first  word,  she  said — 

"  What  o'clock  is  it,  Edward?" 

"  The  clock  will  very  soon  strike  nine." 

"  You  are  apparently  in  a  brown  study,  Dr.  Sin 
clair?" 

"  Not  while  you  are  addressing  me,  certainly,  Miss 
Vivian." 

"  More  gallant  than  intelligible,  isn't  he,  Mr.  Sin- 
clair?" 

"  You  will  recollect,  Miss  Vivian,  that  I  know  the 
word." 

"  Will  you  tell  me,  my  dear  Mrs.  Sinclair,  which 
is  the  most  useful  of  all  the  metals  ?" 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  135 

"  I  think  I  detect  a  little  iron-y  in  your  tones,  Miss 
Vivian  ?" 

"And  I  discover  something  stronger  in  yours,  Mrs. 
Sinclair,  so  without  waiting  for  further  hints,  I  will 
'  Strike  while  the  iron  is  hot.'  " 

"Ah!  Miss  Gertrude,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "we 
dealt  too  gently  with  you." 

"  On  the  contrary,  sir,  you  began  from  the  first  to 
strike  too  hard." 

"Ah !  then,  Mr.  Vivian  betrayed  us,  did  he  ?" 

"  If  that  be  the  case,"  said  Edward,  "  I  must  plead 
with  Miss  Alice  to  relieve  me  from  double  duty. 
Will  she  not  stand  for  me  this  time  1" 

Alice  was  persuaded  to  take  her  turn  upon  the 
promise  of  a  short  and  easy  proverb,  for  the  hour  of 
nine  was  now  close  at  hand.  Miss  Vivian  named  the 
familiar  proverb,  "  One  good  turn  deserves  another," 
and  Alice  have  been  called  in,  began  her  questioning 
with  Harry — 

"Have  they  really  chosen  an  easy  proverb, 
Harry?" 

"  Yes,  Alice,  a  very  easy  one." 

"Now,  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  give  me  a  lift,"  said 
Alice. 

"  That  I  will,  my  bird,  and  a  good  one  too." 

"  Herbert,  I  want  some  help  from  you." 

"  And  I  give  it  to  you  in  my  turn,"  was  his  reply. 

"Mr.  Vivian,"  said  Alice,  "it  was  to  oblige  you  1 
vvent  out  this  time." 


/36  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

"And  such  generosity  deserves  much  praise,  I  am 
sure." 

"  I  am  not  quite  through  the  proverb  yet,  I  believe, 
papa." 

"  You  need  another  word  only,  I  believe,"  \vas  the 
reply. 

"  And  I  am  indebted  to  you  for  not  only  that,  dear 
papa,  but  for  the  ability  to  declare  the  proverb  to  be, 
'  One  good  turn  deserves  another.' " 

"  Very  well  indeed,  my  daughter ;  I  am  quite 
proud  of  you.  Another  time  Harry  and  Herbert 
shall  both  have  a  chance  to  acquit  themselves  as  well ; 
but  now  we  must  set  off  our  fire-works." 

"  Hurrah,"  said  Harry,  "  not  that  I  love  proverbs 
less,  but  fire-works  more." 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

A  Compromise — The  Signal — Flight  of  Rockets — The  Rocket's 
Path — Why  the  Rocket  rises — Its  Rudder — Roman  Candles — 
Sea  Signals — A  Catharine  Wheel — Courantines — A  Dragon — A 
Spiral  Rocket — Serpents — Loaded  Rockets — The  Daft  Boy — 
Chinese  Fire — A  Mock  Sun — Alice — Thanks. 

TTJ"HILE  the  gentlemen  were  making  the  final  ar- 
f  \  rangements  to  set  off  the  fire- works,  the  ladies 
gathered  in  the  window  to  witness  the  scene,  con- 
gratulating themselves  that  they  had  so  warm  and 
pleasant  a  point  of  observation. 

"But,  mamma,"  said  Alice,  "I  never  thought  that 
oy  staying  in  here,  we  shall  completely  lose  all  the 
explanations  which  Mr.  Oldbuckle  and  papa  will 
make  to  Harry  and  Herbert." 

"That  is  a  drawback,  certainly,  to  our  cosy  corner," 
said  Gertrude  Vivian,  "and  I  would  rather  feel  a  little 
cold  air  than  miss  l/ie  conversation." 

"  Let  us  then,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair,  "  put  on  our 
shawls  and  bonnets  and  throw  open  the  window. 
The  gentlemen  can  then  join  us  without  leaving  the 
ground,  and  we  can  join  in  the  conversation." 

This  plan  was  immediately  adopted,  and  all  tho 
group,  including  Mary,  who  had  stipulated  to  bo 
called  in  time,  was  presently  gathered  in  Ihe  recess. 


1,38  HARRY'S  VACATION;  on, 

As  usual  in  all  pyrotechnic  displays,  the  discharge  of 
,«v  rocket  announced  the  beginning  of  the  exhibition. 

"Oh!  how  beautiful,"  said  Alice,  as  the  brilliant 
herald  sprang  swiftly  upward,  with  a  rushing  noise, 
leaving  behind  it  a  path  of  light. 

"And  look,  Alice,"  said  Herbert,  "  there  is  a  shower 
of  white  stars  falling  from  it." 

"While  they  were  yet  speaking,  a  number  of  rockets 
rose  in  quick  succession,  some  of  them  almost  per- 
pendicularly, and  others  in  an  oblique  direction. 

"  Do  you  notice,  Herbert,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle, 
"  that  there  is  no  curve  in  the  path  of  the  rocket  until 
it  is  nearly  spent,  and  then  it  bends  over  and  falls." 

"Yes,  sir,  but  what  makes  it  rise  at  all1?" 

"Did  you  observe  that  the  rocket  was  kindled  at 
the  bottom  ?" 

"I  have  always  wondered  at  that,  sir." 

"The  burning  of  the  combustible  material  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  cylinder,  generates  a  vast  quantity 
of  gas,  which  rushes  out  of  the  orifice  in  all  directions. 
Its  escape  is  opposed  by  the  air,  with  a  force  which 
so  greatly  exceeds  the  weight  of  the  rocket,  that  the 
latter  is  driven  upwards,  and  this  motion  continues 
until  the  force  is  quite  spent." 

"What  is  the  use  of  the  stick,  sir?"  inquired  Alice. 

"It  is  the  rudder  of  the  rocket,  my  bird." 

"Its  rudder,  sir?"  said  Harry,  "is  a  rocket  steered 
like  a  ship  ?" 

"Not  exactly  like  a  ship,  my  boy,  but  it  moves  in 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  139 

the  line  of  its  rudder,  so  that  when  the  stick  is  per 
fectly  straight,  the  rocket  must  move  in  a  perfectly 
straight  line." 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  approached  the  window,  bearing 
in  each  hand  a  white  narrow  cylinder,  both  of  them 
already  pouring  out  showers  of  bright  sparks. 

"Oh!  see,  mamma,  what  a  beautiful  blue  ball," 
exclaimed  Fanny,  and  as  she  spoke  a  second  ball 
followed  the  first,  and  then  a  succession  of  different 
coloured  balls  shot  out  from  the  blazing  cylinders, 
six  from  each  of  them,  and  fell;  some  of  them  so 
near  the  window,  that  Fanny  shrunk  behind  mamma. 

"Those  are  Eoman  candles,  are  they  not,  papa?" 
said  Alice. 

"Yes,  my  daughter;  they  are  very  simple  but 
pleasing  fire-works,  consisting  of  cylinders  filled,  in 
sections,  with  a  composition  that  burns  slowly.  The 
balls  are  made  of  various  ingredients  according  to 
the  colour  they  exhibit." 

"Are  not  rockets  and  Roman  candles  made  use  of 
at  sea  as  signals  ?"  asked  Herbert. 

"Very  commonly.  When  a  ship  is  approaching  a 
coast  in  a  fog,  she  throws  rockets,  which,  if  seen,  are 
answered  from  the  shore;  or  when  one  ship  is  on  the 
look-out  for  another  in  the  night,  she  throws  rockets 
or  burns  Roman  candles  at  intervals,  until  she  dis- 
covers a  similar  signal.  In  a  hundred  ways,  these 
and  other  fire-works,  are  useful  at  sea,  and  especially 
upon  the  coast." 


140  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  now  called  attention  to  a  large 
Catharine  wheel,  to  which  he  applied  his  burning 
match.  It  began  to  emit  sparks,  and  then  revolved 
with  great  velocity,  so  that  there  was  a  brilliant  disc 
of  fire,  six  or  eight  feet  in  diameter,  in  which  the  rays 
soemed  all  the  while  streaming  from  a  central  point. 
In  a  few  moments,  it  changwi  suddenly  into  a  score 
of  brilliant  circles,  one  within  the  other,  which  was 
again  succeeded  by  a  torrent  of  sparks  bordered  by  a 
fringe  of  purple  flame,  which  resembled  a  broad  and 
brilliant  riband.  A  fourth  and  fifth  section  exhibited 
still  more  brilliant  effects,  and  the  young  people 
gazed  with  unfeigned  delight. 

"  Is  the  Catharine  wheel  propelled  like  the  rocket, 
Mr.  Oldbuckle  T'  asked  Harry. 

"Precisely,  only  its  motion  is  circular  because  it 
is  confined  by  a  rod,  or  pin,  passing  through  the  centre 
of  gravity  to  the  whole  piece." 

"Oh!  what  a  very  beautiful  sight,"  said  Mary, 
who  had  been  gazing,  hitherto,  without  a  word.  The 
exclamation  was  elicited  by  the  flight  of  a  courantine, 
or  flying  rocket.  It  ran  swiftly  from  the  frame-work 
along  a  cord  which  passed  to  a  tree,  and  having 
reached  the  end  of  its  route  appeared  to  return. 
This  curious  effect  was  produced  by  having  two 
rockets  tied  together  in  opposite  directions,  and  both 
fastened  to  an  empty  cartridge  which  moved  upon 
the  cord.  The  exhausted  rocket  set  fire  to  the  re- 
<naining  one,  which  produced  the  retrograde  motion. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  141 

"These  courantines,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "are  much 
employed  to  communicate  fire  to  set-pieces,  in  grand 
exhibitions." 

"At  the  exhibition  at  Campden  Hill,"  said  Mr.  Old- 
buckle,  "I  saw  one  in  the  shape  of  a  dragon,  which 
glowed  with  a  fiery  red  colour  and  emitted  jets  of 
flame,  as  it  rushed  on  its  aerial  way." 

"This,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  as  he  now  drew  near  the 
group  "is  a  spiral  rocket.  You  observe  that  it  is 
fastened  to  a  bent  rod,  which,  when  it  is  ignited,  will 
so  shift  its  course,  that  the  path  described  will  be 
spiral." 

He  now  placed  it  almost  erect  against  a  small 
stand  which  stood  by,  and  kindled  the  match  at  its 
lower  extremity.  A  shower  of  sparks  succeeded,  and 
the  rocket  whizzed  off  and  wound  its  way  rapidly 
into  the  air. 

"Oh!  papa,"  said  Alice,  "it  did  not  rise  very  high." 

"No,  my  child,  because  of  the  tortuous  nature  of 
its  path.  The  whole  line  of  its  flight  was  quite  as 
long,  perhaps,  as  it  would  have  been  had  its  rod 
been  straight  instead  of  curved." 

William  Sinclair  now  threw  a  lighted  serpent  into 
the  air.  It  sprang  upward  with  a  rocket-like  motion 
and  a  shower  of  sparks,  but  at  the  height  of  the  neigh- 
bouring trees,  it  suddenly  turned  and  came,  with  a 
zigzag  course,  toward  the  ground  close  to  the  tower 
window,  when  it  exploded  with  such  a  report  as  to 

make  quite  a  commotion  among  the  ladies.     A  second 

7 


142  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

serpent  was  then  discharged,  which  pursued  a  course 
equally  erratic  with  the  first,  though  in  an  opposite 
direction.  Mr.  Oldbuckle  explained  to  Harry  that 
the  serpent  is  a  rocket  without  a  rod,  divided  into 
two  parts,  the  one  filled  with  composition,  and  the 
other  with  grained  or  mealed  powder.  It  is  the 
latter  which  explodes.  Mr.  Oldbuckle  now  produced 
a  large  rocket,  to  an  empty  cartridge  on  the  head  of 
which,  were  attached  several  smaller  rockets,  so 
arranged  that  they  would  ignite  during  the  ascent. 
He  placed  the  rocket  on  the  stand  provided  for  the 
purpose,  so  that  the  long  stick  was  perpendicular 
to  the  ground,  and  in  this  position  the  igniting  match 
was  applied.  The  rocket  rose  in  the  air  with  a  tre- 
mendous hissing,  and  in  a  few  seconds  the  little 
rockets  kindled,  and  threw  out  several  streams  of 
fire,  which  bore  some  resemblance  to  the  branches  of 
a  tree,  the  path  of  the  large  rocket  being  the  trunk. 

This  piece  was  so  successful,  that  Edward  Vivian 
took  pains  to  prepare  something  still  more  compli- 
cated. To  another  large  rocket,  containing  a  petard, 
he  affixed  three  serpents  and  some  bearded  rockets 
charged  with  golden  rain.  As  the  whole  ascended 
with  a  mighty  rush,  the  serpents  took  fire  and  per- 
formed some  very  strange  antics.  Presently  the 
bearded  rockets  discharged  their  golden  showers,  and 
when  the  rocket  reached  its  extreme  height,  the  petard 
exploded  with  a  very  loud  report. 

While  the  group  at  the  window  was  discussing  the 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  143 

probable  effect  of  these  blazing  meteors,  and  startling 
reports,  upon  the  people  of  the  neighbourhood,  a  loud 
shouting  was  heard  at  the  front  gate,  and  William 
Sinclair  proceeded  in  that  direction.  He  found  there 
a  dail  boy  who  lived  about  a  mile  off  and  had  been 
attracted  by  £he  unusual  sights  in  the  sky.  The  boy, 
when  he  saw  some  one  near  him,  made  numerous 
violent  gesticulations  toward  the  sky  and  renewed  his 
shouts.  William  Sinclair  motioned  to  him  to  go  round 
upon  the  other  side  of  the  garden,  where  he  could 
see  the  proceedings,  and  during  the  rest  of  the  exhibi- 
tion he  manifested  the  wildest  delight.  It  was  once 
changed  into  a  sort  of  terror,  as  a  serpent,  after  turn- 
ing in  the  air,  fell  in  the  direction  of  his  position  and 
exploded  almost  in  his  ears. 

Without  premonition  to  the  spectators,  Edward 
Vivian  now  ignited  a  mass  of  red  Chinese  fire,  which 
was  placed  in  a  crucible,  just  behind  the  trunk  of  a 
large  tree.  The  effect  was  exceedingly  beautiful,  and 
vastly  heightened  by  the  snow.  A  deep  crimson 
glow  was  diffused  throughout  the  air,  and  every 
object,  animate  and  inanimate,  reflected  the  strong 
light.  The  snow  seemed  to  be  suddenly  steeped  in 
blood,  and,  for  an  instant,  fear  rather  than  pleasure 
seized  the  spectators,  who  could  not  see  the  burning 
mass  itself. 

This  was  followed  by  a  very  beautiful  piece 
which  Mr.  Oldbuckle  called  a  sun.  It  was  formed 
by  disposing  several  jets,  or  fixed  rockets,  IT-^TS  «- 


144  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

wooden  disc,  so  nicely  balanced  upon  a  steel  rod,  that  it 
turned  with  the  least  motion.  A  dozen  of  these  jets 
were  fastened  on  the  disc  with  their  mouths  toward 
its  outer  edge.  Fire  was  then  communicated  to  all 
the  rockets  at  once,  and  the  disc  was  made  to  revolve 
with  great  velocity  by  their  reaction.  The  result  was 
a  magnificent  radiation  of  streams  of  fire  filling  a 
large  circumference',  and  not  inaptly  likened  to  a 
glorious  sun.  This  exhibition  elicited  the  warmest 
admiration  of  every  one  of  the  spectators.  Even 
the  daft  boy  was  seen  clapping  his  hands  with  delight. 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  gave  notice  that  the  last  scene  of 
the  pageant  was  to  be  presented,  and  Alice  was 
reminded  by  Mr.  Oldbuckle  that  the  piece  was  to 
receive  its  name  from  her.  Expectation  was  at  its 
height,  and  Alice  almost  trembled  with  excitement. 

The  piece  was  arranged  upon  the  top  of  the  frame 
already  mentioned.  A  small  courantine,  blazing 
with  red  fire,  now  darted  up  from  behind  a  neighbour- 
ing tree,  and  ignited  a  group  of  jets  which  threw  out 
sparks  of  various  colours,  and  resembled  a  vast 
plume.  As  this  died  away,  a  number  of  pin-wheels 
were  successively  ignited  and  revolved  with  ever- 
varying  splendour.  In  the  very  midst  of  these 
whirling  rays  there  suddenly  appeared,  in  bright  red 
letters,  which  glowed  for  some  moments  after  the 
wheels  were  still,  the  name  of 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  145 

It  was  hailed  with  the  most  enthusiastic  shouts  and 
plaudits,  and  Herbert  took  the  occasion  of  the  excite- 
ment to  press  the  hand  of  our  young  favourite,  and 
to  whisper,  "  This  is  the  most  beautiful  thing  of  all, 
dear  Alice."  Thus  ended  the  exhibition  of  fire-works 
at  Beechwood,  and  Harry  triumphantly  declared 
that  his  prophecy  of  the  morning  had  been  justified 
to  the  very  letter.  Every  one,  as  if  by  a  common 
impulse,  pressed  around  the  worthy  Mr.  Oldbuckle 
to  thank  him,  again  and  again,  for  the  delight  he  had 
afforded  them,  and  he,  in  his  turn,  declared  that  it 
had  been  one  of  the  happiest  evenings  he  had  ever 
spent  in  the  New  World. 

The  festivities  of  Christmas  Eve  were  then  appro- 
priately followed  by  grateful  praise,  and  humblo 
prayer,  to  Him  who  giveth  every  innocent  pleasure. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Fanny's  "  Merry  Christmas" — Old  Jacob  Fletcher — Alice's  Greet- 
ings— Mr.  Oldbuckle's  Memories — Morning  Worship — A  Christ- 
mas Hymn  —  Christmas  in  America  —  Why  Not  Generally 
Observed — Chronology  at  Fault — Wishes — Christmas  at  the 
South — Negro  Festivals — The  Southern  "  Yule  Log" — Christ- 
mas-greens— Mr.  Oidbuckle's  Proposition — Its  General  Accept- 
ance. 

({"I  TERRY  Christmas!"  was  Fanny's  eager  and 
JjjL  repeated  exclamation,  as  one  after  another  of 
the  family  and  guests,  at  Beechwood,  entered  the 
library  on  the  morning  of  Christmas  day.  The  little 
girl  had  anticipated  every  one  in  rising,  except  the 
domestics  of  the  establishment,  and  had  resolved  to 
be  first  to  offer  every  one  the  beautiful  salutation  of 
the  season.  "  Merry  Christmas,  Mr.  O'buckle,"  (for 
so  Fanny  always  called  him,)  she  said,  as  that  gentle- 
man made  his  appearance,  first  of  the  guests,  except- 
ing, indeed,  Herbert,  who  had  been  there  with  Harry 
for  a  moment,  but  was  now  off,  with  him,  to  the  pond 
to  try  the  ice. 

"  The  same  to  you,  my  dear  little  girl,"  said  the 
kind-hearted  old  gentleman,  and  he  lifted  Fanny  in 
his  arms  and  pressed  a  kiss  right  upon  her  rosy  lips, 
a  tribute  of  affection  which  she  received  from  every 
one,  I  believe,  who  entered  the  library  that  morning. 
[  am  sure  that  old  Jacob  Fletcher  paid  it,  for  he  went 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOMK.  147 

on  purpose,  and  his  eyes  glistened  with  emotion  as 
the  little  girl  ran  eagerly  toward  him,  exclaiming, 
"  Merry  Christmas,  Uncle  Jacob."  The  old  man  did 
as  Mr.  Oldbuckle  had  done  before  him — took  the 
child  in  his  arms  and  said  fervently, 

"  God  bless  you,  dear  little  Fanny,  and  give  you 
many  a  merry  Christmas !" 

Alice  had  scarcely  fewer  Christmas  kisses  than  her 
little  sister,  and  I  can  answer  for  one  of  those  who 
forbore  to  offer  her  that  testimony  of  love,  that  it  was 
not  from  disinclination.  Herbert  Eussel  was  charmed 
with  her  grace,  as  much  as  with  her  beauty,  and  che- 
rished for  her  a  very  warm,  but  boyish  admiration, 
which  Alice  was  too  ingenuous  to  observe  with  any 
other  consciousness  than  that  of  pleasure. 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  greeted  Alice  with  more  than  usual 
tenderness,  and  his  eyes  filled  with  tears  as  he  held 
her  a  willing  prisoner,  at  his  side,  for  a  few  moments. 
This  Alice  observed  and  looked  a  sympathy  so  gentle 
and  anxious,  that  he  said  in  low  tones — 

"  You  wonder  at  my  emotion,  my  child?  I  once 
had  a  daughter  who  bore  your  name,  and  whom  you 
resemble  so  much  in  many  things,  that  I  have  often 
longed  to  tell  you  of  it.  and  so  have  more  than  one 
excuse  for  making  a  pet  of  you." 

Alice's  eyes  grew  suddenly  bright  with  tears,  which 
were  not  shed,  however,  and  she  said, 

"You  must  tell  me  about  your  Alice,  Mr.  Old- 
buckle." 


148  HARRY'S  VACATION;  on, 

"  She  died  when  she  "was  almost  a  year  younger 
than  yon  are,  and  sleeps  -within  the  evening  shadow 
of  an  ivy-wreathed  church,  in  an  English  grave-yard. 
She  \vas  my  only  daughter,  and  it  is  thirty  years 
since  I  buried  her ;  but  I  have  not  forgotten  one  tone 
of  her  voice,  nor  one  smile  of  her  beautiful  face." 

The  entrance  of  Gertrude  Vivian,  with  warm 
greetings,  put  an  end  to  Mr.  Oldbuckle's  low-voiced 
conversation  with  Alice.  She  was  immediately  suc- 
ceeded by  her  brother  and  William  Sinclair,  and  a  few 
moments,  afterward,  the  host  of  Beechwood  made  his 
appearance,  followed  by  Mrs.  Sinclair  and  Mary. 
While  they  were  still  exchanging  the  compliments 
of  the  morning  and  of  the  season,  the  boys  returned 
from  their  visit  to  the  pond,  and  reported  the  ice 
firm  and  almost  strong  enough  for  skating. 

The  customary  routine  of  family  worship  was 
slightly  varied,  this  morning,  by  the  addition  of  a 
Christmas  hymn,  to  the  usual  reading  of  a  portion  of 
the  Scriptures.  All  the  family  united  in  singing  the 
well-known  words — 

"  Hark,  the  herald  angels  sing 
Glory  to  our  new-born  king, 
Peace  on  earth  and  mercy  mild, 
God  and  sinners  reconciled." 

Dr.  Sinclair  offered  up  fervent  thanksgiving  to 
God  for  the  gift  of  his  beloved  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  and 
prayed  that  fte  rich  blessings  of  his  grace  and  salva- 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  149 

tion  might  be  bestowed  upon  them  and  upon  all 
men. 

At  the  breakfast-table,  after  due  attention  had  been 
paid  to  the  delicacies  which  Mrs.  Sinclair's  care  had 
provided,  a  very  general  conversation  ensued. 

"  You  have  observed,  Mr.  Oldbuckle,"  said  Mrs. 
Sinclair,  "  that  Christmas  is  a  season  more  observed 
in  England,  than  it  is  in  this  country." 

"  I  should  say,  Mrs.  Sinclair,"  was  Mr.  Oldbuckle's 
reply,  "  that  it  is  not  observed  at  all  here,  except  by 
the  church.  It  certainly  can  not  be  called  a  popular 
festival." 

"  And  '  the  church,'  in  the  sense  in  which  I  suppose 
you  use  the  term,  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  embraces  so  small  a 
part  of  the  Christian  community,  throughout  the  United 
States,  that  Christmas  obtains  but  a  sorry  recognition, 
even  in  an  ecclesiastical  sense,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair. 

"In  New-England,"  said  William  Sinclair,  "I 
believe  Christmas  is  quite  overlooked." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Gertrude  Vivian,  "overshadowed  in 
the  superior  glories  of  thanksgiving." 

"  Roast  beef  and  plum  pudding,  eclipsed  by  roast 
turkey  and  pumpkin  pies,"  was  Edward  Vivian's 
amplification  of  his  sister's  remark. 

"  I  have  wondered,"  resumed  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  at 
the  popular  indifference,  in  this  country,  to  this  famous 
festival  of  the  Old  World.  The  event  which  it  com- 
memorates should  be  as  dear  to  the  American  heart 
as  it  is  to  the  English." 


150  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

"And  so  perhaps  it  is,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  but 
there  are  two  great  reasons  why  Christmas  is  not 
such  a  festival,  in  this  land,  as  it  is  in  the  mother 
country." 

"  What  are  they,  sir?"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  with 
interest/' 

"  The  first,"  replied  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  is  a  lack  of 
reverence  for  the  institutions  of  antiquity,  which 
marks  our  national  character.  It  is,  very  probably,  a 
defect,  and  is  akin  to  that  lack  of  the  home-love 
which  is  alleged  against  us,  with  too  much  justice,  by 
English  and  German  writers.  We  are  a  new  people, 
with  new  tastes,  new  '  notions,'  new  aims,  and  new 
manners." 

"  I  see,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  a  great  deal  of  mean- 
ing in  your  words,  and  can  understand  their  applica- 
tion to  the  immemorial  festival  of  Christmas;  but 
still  I  can  not  imagine  how  it  is,  that  the  birth-day  of 
our  Saviour  can  be  so  generally  disregarded  in  this 
Christian,  and  I  may  say,  eminently  evangelical  land." 

"My  second  reason,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  with  a 
slight  smile,  "  will  answer  your  question,  although  it 
may  greatly  excite  your  surprise." 

"  I  am  indeed  eager  to  hear  it,  then." 

"  It  is  a  question  of  chronology,  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 
There  is  a  very  prevalent  doubt  among  us,  that  the 
25th  of  December  is,  with  any  propriety,  fixed  upon 
as  the  day  iroon  which  Christ  was  born  in  Bethlehem 
of  Judea. ' 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  151 

"  The  fact  you  state  surprises  me  less  than  this — 
that  the  identity  of  the  day  should  be  considered  of 
absolute  importance." 

"It  may  well  seem  strange,  I  grant,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair,  "  to  those  of  us  who  grew  up  into  a  rever- 
ence for  the  event,  as  connected  with  a  day  made  im- 
posing by  all  manner  of  ceremonies  and  festivities. 
It  is  otherwise,  however,  with  a  fresh  and  new- 
moulded  people." 

"  For  my  part,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair,  "  I  wish  Christ- 
mas was  celebrated  here  as  it  is  in  England — barring 
the  superstitions,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  unseemly 
revels  on  the  other,  which  formerly  blemished  the 
festival  in  some  parts  of  the  land." 

"  I  echo  your  wish,  my  dear  mother,"  said  William 
Sinclair,  "  though  I  do  so,  simply,  from  the  high  opin- 
ion which  I  entertain  of  the  conservative  influence  of 
such  time-honoured  festivals  as  this  upon  the  popular 
mind." 

"An  important  consideration,  certainly,"  said  his 
father ;  "  but  I  would  add  to  what  I  said  just  now, 
that  the  religious  sentiment  of  this  land  is  so  hostile 
to  all  Popish  ceremonies,  that  it  is  quite  impossible 
that  one  so  conspicuous,  in  the  Romish  Church  as 
Christmas,  should  not  be  looked  upon  with  jealousy, 
to  say  the  least." 

"  You  present  the  matter  to  me  in  a  new  aspect,' 
said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  though  my  heart  clings  warmly 
to  the  '  Merry  Christmas '  of '  Merry  England.' " 


152  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"And  so  does  mine,"  returned  Dr.  Sinclair, 
"  though  I  am  free  to  confess,  that  I  can  not  make  it  a 
sacred  or  an  ecclesiastical  obligation,  "without  doing 
violence  to  chronology.  We  keep  Christmas  at 
Beechwood,  because  we  love  occasions  for  the  reunion 
of  the  separated,  and  for  thanksgiving  to  the  Author 
of  all  good.  And  this,"  he  added,  "  is  just  as  fitting 
a  day  upon  which  to  be  grateful  for  the  advent  of 
Christ,  as  any  other  in  the  whole  year." 

"  We  are  agreed,  then,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  in 
spirit,  though  we  differ  somewhat  in  the  letter." 

"  Christmas  is  a  great  holiday  at  the  South,"  said 
Edward  Vivian.  "  I  had  the  happiness  of  spending  a 
December  month  there,  with  a  college  friend.  He 
resided  in  Charleston,  but  his  father  owned  a  large 
plantation  on  the  sea-board,  and  my  time  was  passed 
almost  equally  in  the  city  and  the  country  home. 
I  never  saw  such  genial,  hearty  enjoyment,  as  that 
which  marked  Christmas  week  at  Koseland.  The 
hall  was  crowded  with  guests,  and  most  bountiful 
cheer  was  provided  for  the  company.  Much  as  I  en- 
joyed the  festivities  in  the  hall,  however,  I  felt  a  much 
greater  interest  in  witnessing  the  sports  and  frolics 
which  prevailed  among  the  servants,  of  whom  there 
were  nearly  two  hundred,  great  and  small.  The 
whole  week  was  given  up  to  mirth,  and  visiting,  and 
feasting.  Dancing  was  the  most  popular  amuse- 
ment of  the  night ;  and  I  have  seen  a  much  less 
animated  and  pleasing  sight,  than  a  large  company  of 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  153 

gaily-dressed  negroes,  moving  to  the  sound  of  the 
violin  and  banjo." 

"  Do  the  slaves  at  the  South  generally  have  the 
Christmas  holidays  to  themselves]"  said  Mr.  Old- 
buckle. 

"  Everywhere,  sir,  I  believe,"  was  Edward  Vivian's 
reply.  "I  was  told  that  the  general  rule  is  to  exempt 
them  from  any  but  voluntary  service  as  long  as  the 
yule  log  smoulders." 

"  Do  they  have  a  yule  log  in  the  South  ?"  asked 
Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  Oh !  yes ;  and  the  servants  are  cunning  enough  to 
protract  their  holiday  by  selecting  the  largest  and 
toughest  log  of  black  gum  which  they  can  find,  and 
by  soaking  it  in  the  creek,  for  a  week  beforehand,  to 
make  it  burn  slowly.  If  the  master  wants  the 
service  of  a  negro  during  the  Christmas  holidays,  he 
must  make  a  bargain  with  him." 

"  Are  you  aware,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  addressing 
Dr.  Sinclair,  "  that,  in  the  northern  counties  of  Eng- 
land, the  servants  were  formerly  entitled  to  ale  at 
their  meals,  so  long  as  the  yule  log  lasted  ?" 

"  I  do  not  think  I  should  have  remembered,"  he  re- 
plied, "  if  I  ever  knew  the  fact,  which  certainly  finds 
a  curious  coincidence  in  what  Mr.  Vivian  says  of  the 
southern  yule  log." 

"  Do  they  decorate  the  halls  with  Christmas  greerjs 
in  the  South,  Mr.  Vivian  ?" 

"  I  do  not  know,  sir,  that  it  is  universally  done ;  but 


154  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

at  Roseland  there  was  a  profusion  of  the  bright  holly 
of  the  cedar,  and  of  the  mistleto  about  the  rooms." 

"  I  should  like  very  much  to  spend  a  Christmas  in 
the  South,  from  the  account  you  give  me  of  it." 

"  Let  me  atone,  sir,  for  my  very  meagre  descrip- 
tion of  it,  by  referring  you  to  a  nouvelette,  entitled, 
"  The  Golden  Christmas,"  from  the  pen  of  South 
Carolina's  great  novelist,  Mr.  Simms.  That  is  a 
picture,  sir,  which  will  make  you  laugh  with  de- 
light !" 

"I  suppose  your  young  people,"  said  Mr.  Old- 
buckle  to  Dr.  Sinclair,  "are  not  ignorant  of  the 
Christmas  sports  of  Old  England." 

"  Oh !  no,  sir,"  said  Alice,  "  both  papa  and  mam- 
ma are  eloquent,  at  times,  with  stories  of  Christmas 
in  England.  I  have  got  a  '  Christmas  piece,'  which 
I  will  show  you,  after  breakfast,  executed  by  papa  in 
his  juvenile  days." 

"  I  shall  be  happy  to  gaze  upon  the  eloquent  me- 
morial," said  Mr.  Oldbuckle;  "it  will  carry  me 
back  to  other  times ;  but  before  we  leave  the  break- 
fast table,"  he  added,  as  he  observed  the  indications 
of  a  finished  meal,  "  I  wish  to  ask  who  will  accom- 
pany me  to  St.  James's  Church,  to  attend  the  Christ- 
mas-morning services  there?" 

Alice's  eyes  seemed  to  intimate  a  desire  to  do  so, 
and  the  old  gentleman  resumed : 

"It  is  only  a  pleasant  ride,  and  I  have  ordered  a 
sleigh  to  be  here  at  half  past  nine  o'clock,  which  will 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  IDO 

carry  as  many  of  you  as  are  inclined  to  go.  I  may 
count  you  one,  Alice?" 

"And  me  another,"  said  Gertrude  Vivian,  "if  you 
will  accept  so  prompt  a  volunteer." 

"  With  all  my  heart,"  was  his  cordial  reply. 

"  I  presume,"  said  William  Sinclair,  "  that  it  will 
be  pleasant  to  all  of  us  to  go.  I  can  answer  for  my 
self  that  it  will." 

"  It  would  delight  me  to  go,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair, 
"  but  I  must,  of  necessity,  be  left  behind ;  or  my 
Christinas  hospitality  may  suffer,  in  our  friend  Mr. 
Oldbuckle's  estimation,  and  that  I  could  not  endure. 
I  do  not  think  it  best  for  Mary  to  go  either,  but  for 
the  rest  of  the  young  people,  I  commend  to  them 
the  ride  and  the  pleasant  service,  too." 

"  I  cordially  approve  the  idea,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair. 
"  and  if  Mr.  Oldbuckle  will  pledge  himself  for  the 
pews  of  St.  James',  as  liberally  as  he  does  for  the 
capacity  of  his  sleigh,  there  is  no  reason  why  we  may 
not  all  go ;  and  if  one  sleigh  is  not  sufficient  we  can 
have  two." 

"  St.  James'  will  bid  you  all  welcome,  I  am  sure, 
and  I  shall  be  delighted  to  introduce  you  there." 

St.  James'  Church  was  situated  in  a  country  parish 
about  ten  miles  from  Beechwood.  Mr.  Oldbuckle 
was  a  pew-holder  there,  there  being  no  other  Episco- 
pal Church  so  near  to  his  abode.  The  long  conversa- 
sation  had  protracted  the  breakfast  sitting  until  it 
was  now  nine  o'clock,  and  there  remained  barely  time 


156  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

enough  to  get  ready  before  Mr.  Oldbuckle's  sleigh 
was  to  arrive. 

Edward  Vivian  went  out  to  order  his  cutter,  pro- 
posing either  to  drive  his  sister  himself,  or  to  resign 
the  reins  of  it  to  his  friend  William  Sinclair,  if,  as 
he  fancied  it  would,  the  arangement  should  be  agree- 
able to  him. 


CHAPTEFw    XV. 

Christmas  Umner — Church  Decoration — "Wordsworth  —  Simp* 
Dragon  —  Evening  Amusement  —  Charade  Plays  —  Infirm  — 
Wedlock. 

ABOUT  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  party  re- 
turned from  St.  James',  all  of  them  exceedingly 
delighted  with  their  excursion.  They  were  none  too 
soon  for  Mrs.  Sinclair,  who  had  begun  to  feel  appre- 
hensive that  they  might  keep  back  her  Christmas 
dinner.  After  a  sufficient  interval  for  the  purposes 
of  the  toilet,  the  dinner  was  served;  and  it  was 
evident  that  there  were  grateful  reminiscences  of 
"merrie  England,"  in  the  heart  of  the  hostess,  as 
well  as  in  the  heart  of  one  of  her  guests.  When  the 
covers  were  removed,  there  was  displayed  before 
Dr.  Sinclair,  a  noble  sirloin  of  roast  beef,  with  a  gar- 
land of  holly  leaves  around  the  edge  of  the  dish.  At 
the  other  extremity  there  was  a  roast  turkey,  and 
this,  like  all  the  intermediate  dishes,  was  prettily 
decorated  with  the  "Christmas  greens,"  for  which  it 
was  very  evident  our  excellent  friend  Mr.  Oldbuckle 
had  an  amiable  weakness. 

The  legitimate  boar's  head  and  peacock  pie  of  the 
old  rigime  were  not,  it  is  true,  included  in  the  bill  of 
fare,  but  there  was  a  substantial  English  look  and 


158  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

odour  about  the  dishes  which  could  not  be  mistaken, 
Dr.  Sinclair  called  on  his  old  friend  to  say  grace, 
which  he  did  in  good  old  English  fashion.  It  was 
not  couched  in  hurried  and  unintelligible  words;  but 
was  said  with  deliberate  enunciation  and  with  reverent 
manner;  very  soon  after  which  there  was  a  rivalry 
between  the  tongues  and  the  forks  of  the  company, 
as  to  which  of  the  two  should  do  the  most  effectual 
service. 

Mrs.  Sinclair  asked  Gertrude  if  she  had  enjoyed  the 
ride  and  the  services  at  St.  James',  to  which  question 
she  received  a  very  cordial  answer  in  the  affirmative. 
William  Sinclair's  eyes  were  upon  her,  for  he  felt  no 
little  interest  in  the  reply  she  made,  as  he  had  been 
her  sole  companion  both  going  and  returning,  and  he 
had  found  for  her  the  lessons  in  the  Prayer-Book. 
He  was  quite  satisfied  with  the  tone  of  Miss  Vivian's 
answer,  and  forthwith  flattered  himself  that  he  had 
been  a  most  agreeable  companion. 

"How  did  you  like  the  decorations  of  the  church, 
Miss  Vivian  1"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"I  thought  them  very  chaste  and  appropriate,"  she 
answered. 

"What  were  they1?"  asked  Mrs.  Sinclair. 

"  The  walls  were  hung  with  festoons  of  cedar  and 
holly,  and  the  chancel  railing  was  dressed  with 
wreaths  of  the  same  material.  There  were  two  or 
three  mottoes,  in  letters  done  with  small  sprigs  of  cedar 
.ipon  white  cloth,  which  had  a  very  pretty  appearance. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  150 

That  over  the  chancel  was  the  verse  from  the  evan- 
gelist Luke — '  For  unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the 
city  of  David,  a  Saviour  which  is  Christ  the  Lord.' 
There  was  another  motto  over  the  organ  which  1 
thought  exceedingly  appropriate.  It  was,  '  Oh !  Lord 
our  Lord,  how  excellent  is  thy  name  in  all  the  earth!' " 

"You  do  not  object  to  the  Christmas  decoration  of 
churches,  I  hope,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  addressing 
Dr.  Sinclair. 

"Not  at  all,  my  dear  sir,  I  think  it  one  of  the  most 
pleasing  features  of  the  festival." 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  so,  for  now  I  may 
venture  to  quote  the  beautiful  words  of  one  of 
England's  noblest  bards.  I  will  venture  to  repeat  the 
whole  sonnet : 

'  "Would  that  our  scrupulous  sires  had  dared  to  leave 
Less  scanty  measure  of  those  graceful  rites 
And  usages,  whose  due  return  invites 

A  stir  of  mind  too  natural  to  deceive, 

Giving  the  memory  help  when  she  could  weave 
A  crown  for  Hope !     I  dread  the  boasted  lights 
That  all  too  often  are  but  fiery  flights, 

Killing  the  bud  o'er  which  in  vain  we  grieve. 

Go  seek,  when  Christmas  snows  discomfort  bring, 
The  counter  spirit  found  in  some  gay  church, 
Green  with  fresh  holly,  every  pew  a  porch 

In  which  the  linnet  or  the  thrush  might  sing, 
Merry  and  loud,  and  safe  from  prying  search, 

Stra-'ns  offered  only  to  the  genial  spring.' " 

"I  am  delighted  to  find  that  you  and  I  do  not 


160  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

disagree  in  our  estimate  of  "Wordsworth,  Mr.  Old- 
buckle.  He  was  Nature's  '  high  priest '  and  minis- 
tered sublimely  at  her  altars." 

"  How  exquisite,"  said  Gertrude  Vivian,  "  are  his 
minor  pieces,  his  lyrics  let  me  call  them.  That,  for 
example,  commencing 

'  She  dwelt  among  the  untrodden  ways, 
Beside  the  springs  of  Dove.' 

and  that  other  inimitable  ballad,  the  Cottage  Girl, 

'A  simple  child,  dear  brother  Jem, 
That  lightly  draws  its  breath.' " 

"Wordsworth,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "will  grow 
more  and  more  into  the  hearts  of  the  people,  as  time 
hallows  his  genius  and  his  song." 

Much  more  genial  discourse  made  the  admirable 

dinner 

"A  feast  of  reason,  and  a  flow  of  soul." 

The  plum-pudding  was  brought  in  all  blazing  with 
the  blue  flame  of  the  spirit  of  wine,  and  Mr.  Old- 
buckle  said  it  reminded  him  of  the  game  of  snap- 
dragon, which  was  quite  common  in  England  upon 
Christmas  Eve.  Harry  begged  to  know  what  it  was, 
and  Mr.  Oldbuckle  thus  described  it: 

"A  quantity  of  plums,  raisins  as  they  are  always 
called  in  this  country,  picked  and  washed  clean,  was 
spread  upon  a  very  large  dish.  A  quantity  of  spirit 
of  wine,  or  perhaps  brandy,  was  then  poured  over 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  161 

them,  and  when  the  guests  or  the  family  were  all 
gathered  around  it,  the  spirit  was  set  on  fire,  filling 
the  dish  with  a  hot  blue  flame.  Every  one  was  now 
to  '  put  in  his  thumb  (and  finger  too)  and  pull  out  a 
plum,'  which  was  to  be  eaten  immediately,  and  no  one 
could  make  a  second  draft  until  he  had  eaten  the  first. 
It  was  quite  a  common  thing  for  the  young  folks  to 
make  a  desperate  plunge  into  the  burning  mass  and 
having  seized  their  prize,  to  drop  it  upon  the  edge  of 
the  dish." 

Mr.  Oldbuckle's  reminiscence  of  "  snap-dragon " 
was  quite  amusing,  and  Harry  insisted  that  he  would 
nave  had  his  full  share  of  the  plums,  in  spite  of  the 
"blue  blazes." 

After  dinner  the  boys  went  down  to  the  pond, 
promising  not  to  venture  far  upon  the  ice,  and  they 
forebore  to  take  their  skates,  lest  they  might  be 
tempted  to  do  so.  William  and  Edward  went  out 
for  a  walk  ;  Mr.  Oldbuckle  and  Dr.  Sinclair  betook 
themselves  to  the  library  to  indulge  in  a  tete-a-tete 
over  some  choice  cigars,  while  the  ladies  all  resorted 
to  their  own  rooms. 

After  tea  the  whole  company  repaired  to  the 
library,  to  take  part,  either  as  performers  or  specta- 
tors, in  the  charade-plays  which  had  been  agreed  upon 
as  the  entertainment  of  the  evening.  William  Sin- 
clair  was  unanimously  appointed  manager,  and  cheer- 
fully entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office.  He  took 
a  slip  of  paper  from  his  pocket-book,  and  then 


162  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

announced  a  charade  in  three  acts,  at  the  same  time 
calling  upon  Miss  Vivian,  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  Dr. 
Sinclair  and  Harry  to  withdraw  with  him  from  the 
room  to  prepare  for  the  first-act.  Alice,  by  his  direc- 
tion, took  her  seat  at  the  piano-forte  to  occupy  the 
interval.  They  were  not  absent  more  than  five 
minutes,  when  Dr.  Sinclair  reentered  the  library,  and 
seating  himself  at  his  writing-desk,  appeared  to  be 
occupied  with  some  accounts.  Presently  a  loud 
knock  was  heard  at  the  door  and  he  arose  to  open  it. 

"  Walk  in,  madam — walk  in,  sir ;"  was  his  courte- 
ous salutation  to  a  lady  and  gentleman,  both  of  them 
arrayed  in  travelling  costume. 

"  Will  you  see  to  our  horses,  sir  1"  said  the  gentle- 
man. 

"  Certainly,  sir. — Hostler,  here,  take  these  horses 
and  take  good  care  of  them." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  responded  a  voice  from  the  outside. 

The  travellers  entered  the  room  and  were  followed 
by  William  and  Harry  Sinclair,  bringing  in  a  large 
trunk,  a  carpet-bag,  and  a  lady's  hat-box. 

Jacob  Fletcher  now  put  his  head  inside  the  door, 
and  with  a  broad  grin  upon  his  honest  face,  said  with 
a  scrape  of  his  foot : 

"  Please,  sir,  what  shall  I  give  the  horses  ?" 

"  Oats — hay  and  oats — not  a  bit  of  corn !"  was  the 
reply  of  the  gentleman  who  was  divesting  himself  of 
his  wrapper — an  example  which  the  lady  followed. 

"  It  is  cold  weather,  sir,"  he  said,  addressing  Dr. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  103 

Sinclair;  "my  daughter  will  need  a  fire  in  hex 
room." 

"  She  shall  have  one,  sir,  and  yourself  also,"  was 
the  response. 

"And  when  will  you  have  supper  served  1"  said 
William  Sinclair,  who  had  a  white  apron  tied  around 
him. 

"  As  soon  as  possible,"  said  the  lady,  to  whom  the 
gentleman  referred  the  question,  by  look,  at  least. 

"  Coffee  or  tea,  ma'am  ?"  said  William. 

"  Tea — green  tea — by  all  means." 

"  Certainly,  ma'am,"  and  the  waiter  disappeared. 

"  We  have  travelled  from  B to-day,"  said  the 

gentleman,  "  and  I  think  that  is  fifty  miles  distant,  is 
it  not?" 

"  Fifty-two,  sir,"  was  Dr.  Sinclair's  reply ;  "  you 
must  feel  a  little  fatigued." 

"Yes,  sir,  and  after  supper  we  will  be  glad  to 
retire,  as  we  must  resume  our  journey  early  in  the 
morning." 

Here  the  actors  paused  for  a  moment,  and  the 
words — "  Travel — host — waiter — hotel — night,"  and 
others  suggested  by  the  scene,  were  uttered  by  the 
group  who  were  playing  the  part  of  spectators ;  they 
could  not  quite  agree  which  of  these  it  was,  however, 
that  was  intended ;  and  the  first  act  was  closed  upon 
their  doubts  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  travellers 
from  the  room  preceded  by  William  and  Harry  with 
lighted  candles. 


164  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  It  must  be  'hotel,'  "  said  Alice;  "  papa  was  host — 
William  waiter." 

"  And  Harry  was  boots,'  I  suppose,"  said  Herbert, 
laughing. 

"  Mr.  Oldbuckle  has  found  a  daughter,  it  seems,  iii 
our  fair  Gertrude — though  he  does  not  claim  you  for 
a  son,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair  to  Edward  Vivian. 

"No,  there  is  a  mistake  somewhere,"  was  the 
playful  reply. 

While  they  were  still  discussing  the  word  implied 
in  the  first  act,  the  door  of  the  library  again  opened 
and  the  whole  party  reappeared,  all  of  them  in  win- 
ter  dress,  and  evidently  bent  on  some  out-of-door 
employment.  The  lady  seated  herself  in  a  chair, 
and  gathered  her  dress  about  her  feet,  while  the  gen- 
tlemen began  to  step  cautiously  as  if  they  were 
afraid  of  their  footing.  They  moved  on  and  stamped 
with  their  feet,  at  first  slightly  and  then  more  ener- 
getically, exchanging,  meanwhile,  satisfactory  glances 
with  the  lady. 

"  That  will  do,  I  think."  said  one  of  them,  as  he 
made  diligent  effort  apparently  to  shake  the  floor  with 
his  feet. 

"  Oh !  yes,  no  danger — it  will  bear  a  loaded  wagon, 
I'll  engage,"  said  another. 

"  It  must  be  a  foot  thick  at  least,"  said  the  third. 

"  Hurrah !  then  we'll  have  fine  sport." 

"  Are  you  quite  sure  it  is  safe,  papa  V'  said  the 
young  lady. 


PHILuSOPHV   AT   HOMK.  165 

"  Oh !  yes,  Sue,  we  have  tried  it  thoroughly." 

"  Oh !  I  wish  I  could  skate,"  she  returned. 

"  You  must  be  content  to  be  '  a  looker-on,  here  in 
Vienna,' "  said  one  of  the  young  men,  while  they  all 
stooped  as  if  to  fasten  on  their  skates ;  after  which 
they  went  through  the  motions  of  a  skating  scene, 
and  abruptly  glided  out  of  the  room. 

"  Ice,"  said  Edward  Vivian,  "  but  that  does  not 
match  with  either  of  the  words  of  the  first  scene !" 

"  Neither  does  '  skate,' "  said  Mrs.  Sinclair. 

"  No,"  said  Alice,  "and  moreover  the  word  '  skate ' 
was  used,  and  William  said  that  the  word  would  not 
be  introduced." 

"  Very  true,  Alice,  then  what  can  it  be  ?" 

No  one  was  quite  sure,  but  ice  seemed  to  be  the 
general  choice,  though  it  was  difficult  to  find  any  thing 
to  agree  with  it.  They  all  waited  impatiently  for  the 
third  act,  which  they  hoped  would  explain  both  the 
former  ones.  They  did  not  wait  long.  The  party 
reappeared,  and  a  shout  of  merriment  greeted  their 
entrance,  for  they  all  came  in  the  character  of  invalids, 
some  old  and  others  young.  Mr.  Oldbuckle  person- 
ated a  beggar-man,  with  tattered  clothes  and  a  long 
staff;  and  he  advanced  slowly,  repeating,  as  he 
moved,  the  well-known  words — 

"Pity  the  sorrows  of  a  poor  old  man, 
"Whose  trembling  steps  have  borne  him  to  your  door." 

Dr.  Sinclair  was  on  crutches,  and  Miss  Vivian  waa 
8 


1G6  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

seated  in  Fanny's  wicker-wagon,  in  which  William 
Sinclair  drew  her  along  the  room.  Harry  limped  at 
a  furious  rate,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole  party 
might  be  a  detachment  from  a  hospital. 

"Well,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair,  "I  confess  myself 
puzzled,  and  shall  have  to  give  it  up.  I  really  can 
not  make  hotels,  and  ice,  and  crutches  compound 
reasonably." 

"  Call  the  first  by  a  more  plebeian  name,  my  dear 
Mrs.  Sinclair,"  said  Edward  Vivian,  with  a  knowing 
smile ;  and  he  added,  "  think  of  some  quality  of  the 
second  important  to  a  skating  party,  and  then  put 
the  two  together,  and  see  if  there  will  not  be  proba- 
ble need  of  the  third." 

"  And  so  by  your  most  indispensable  and  timely 
aid,  Mr.  Vivian,  I  am  able,  in  behalf  of  the  audience, 
to  dismiss  these  INN-FIRM  characters  with  a  most 
hearty  eulogium  upon  their  by  no  means  infirm 
acting.  I  hope,"  she  added,  bowing  to  her  son,  who, 
as  manager,  was  waiting  for  the  guess,  "  I  have  done 
the  charade  and  the  performers  equal  justice  in  this 
matter  1" 

"Certainly,  my  dear  mother,  we  have  no  reason 
to  complain,  and  are  only  too  happy  in  ha\  ing  enter- 
tained you  at  our  '  inn ' — proved  to  you  that  the  ice 
was  'firm,'  and  that  we  were  successful  though 
*  in-frm, '  actors." 

With  a  new  set  of  performers.  William  Sinclair 
produced  another  charade  in  three  acts,  the  first  of 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  16"? 

which  represented  a  bridal  party,  the  second,  the 
closet  scene  from  Blue  Beard,  and  the  whole, 
WED-LOCK,  was  shown  up  in  a  pretty  matrimonial 
squabble — a  consummation  against  which  Mrs.  Sin- 
clair protested  as  utterly  libellous. 

It  was  quite  late  when  *he  happy  party  closed  their 
Christmas  festivities,  and  after  the  customary  wor. 
ship,  bade  each  other  "  good-night,"  and  sought 

"  Tired  nature's  sweet  restorer — balmy  sleep." 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Adieus — Departures — More    S  low — Fanny's   Balls — Science    in 
Soap-bubbles  -  Elasticity — Form — Inertia — Variable  Colours. 

THE  next  morning,  immediately  after  breakfast, 
Edward  Vivian  and  his  sister  bade  their  friends 
at  Beechwood  farewell,  and  took  with  them  to  Vivian 
dale,  not  only  delightful  memories  of  their  visit,  but 
the  warm  regard  and  affection  of  those  whom  they 
left  behind.  Mr.  Oldbuckle  also  departed  for  hia 
own  residence,  and  persuaded  William  Sinclair  to 
ride  over  with  him  in  his  sleigh,  by  a  promise  to 
return  with  him  in  the  afternoon,  if  he  should  find 
nothing  of  importance  to  detain  him  at  "  the  Grove." 
All  the  young  people  expressed  their  hope  that 
nothing  would  occur  to  prevent  his  return. 

An  additional  fall  of  snow  during  the  night  had 
covered  the  icy  bosom  of  the  pond,  so  that  the  boys 
were  disappointed  in  their  expectations  of  passing  the 
morning  in  skating.  They  went  out,  therefore,  with 
Alice  to  look  after  the  pets,  and  to  see  how  the  pony 
came  on.  Mary  and  Fanny,  by  their  mother's 
advice,  did  not  accompany  them,  both  of  them  hav- 
ing a  slight  cold.  The  former  devoted  herself  to  a 
book  in  the  library,  and  the  latter  persuaded  Bridget, 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  169 

the  maid,  to  make  her  some  strong  soap-suds,  that 
she  might  amuse  herself  by  blowing  bubbles.  She 
was  soon  deeply  interested  in  this  occupation,  always 
so  fascinating  to  childhood,  and  presently  ran  into  the 
sitting-room,  exclaiming — 

"  Oh !  mamma,  what  a  beautiful  bubble.  See, 
mamma,  do  see !" 

Mrs.  Sinclair  looked  up  from  the  work  upon  which 
she  was  engaged,  just  as  the  little  girl  had  succeeded 
in  detaching  from  the  pipe-bowl  a  large  bubble,  which 
fell  upon  the  hearth-rug  without  breaking,  and  for  a 
moment  reflected,  from  its  surface,  the  bright  glow 
of  the  fire. 

"  Yes,  it  is  very  beautiful,  my  little  daughter  j" 
and  even  as  the  mother  spoke,  the  child  threw  another 
frail  and  glittering  bubble  upon  the  rug,  exulting  to 
see  it  bound  like  an  India-rubber  ball.  This  was  the 
first  time  that  Fanny  had  noticed  the  effect  of  letting 
the  soap-bubbles  fall  upon  the  rug  or  carpet.  She 
had  often  blown  them  out  of  doors  and  watched 
them  as  they  were  wafted  about  by  the  air.  She  had 
noticed,  moreover,  that  whenever  the  frail  little  globes 
happened  to  strike  against  any  thing,  they  were 
immediately  destroyed,  and  7iow  when  she  saw  the 
perfect  sphere  lying  upon  the  soft  rug,  and  actually 
rolling  along  as  she  blew  gently  upon  it,  she  was 
almost  wild  with  delight,  and  not  satisfied  with 
mamma's  admiration,  she  ran  into  the  library  and 
called  upon  her  papa  and  Mary  to  come  and  see  the 


170  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

wonder.  Dr.  Sinclair  was  not  busy  at  the  moir  ent^ 
and  he  did  not  refuse,  as  too  many  parents  would 
thoughtlessly  do,  to  gratify  the  fancy  of  his  little  girl, 
lie  went  into  the  sitting-room,  followed  by  Mary,  and 
Fanny  blew  another  bubble,  which  sh.  detached  with 
so  much  eagerness  from  the  pipe,  that  it  fell  upon  her 
papa's  boot  instead  of  the  rug,  and  immediately 
broke.  She  looked  disappointed,  but  tried  again, 
and  this  time  the  crystal-like  globe  rolled  gently 
along  the  rug,  stopping  just  at  her  papa's  foot.  He 
waved  his  hand  above  it,  and  it  rolled  away,  lightly 
bounding  from  the  rug.  For  a  few  moments  he 
moved  it  about  at  his  pleasure,  but  suddenly  it  van- 
ished. 

Alice  and  Herbert  now  entered  the  room  and 
seemed  not  a  little  amused  to  find  Dr.  Sinclair  inter- 
ested in  such  a  childish  sport  as  blowing  bubbles,  for 
he  had  really  taken  the  pipe  and  blown  a  very  large 
bubble,  until  it  burst  upon  the  pipe. 

"  I  want  you  to  see  my  new  balls — my  beautiful 
new  balls,  sister  Ally,"  said  the  excited  Fanny,  as 
she  put  out  her  hand  to  her  papa  for  the  pipe.  It 
was  a  little  rude  in  her  to  do  this,  and  particularly 
without  even  asking  him  if  he  had  done  with  it ;  but 
he  overlooked  her  impoliteness,  and  put  the  pipe  into 
her  hands. 

As  quick  as  thought  she  had  another  fairy  ball 
upon  the  rug,  but  before  it  stopped  rolling,  it  struck 
against  the  fender  and  disaooeared. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  171 

"  Rather  a  soft  ball,  little  Fanny,"  said  Herbert ; 
"that  wouldn't  do  to  play  at  trap  with." 

"  No,  Mr.  Herbert,  but  see  this  one ;"  and  in  a 
moment  it  was  rolling  and  quivering  along  the  rug 
and  over  the  carpet,  before  the  eager  breath  of  the 
little  girl. 

"  What  is  the  reason,  Alice,  that  the  bubble  does 
not  break  when  it  falls  upon  the  rug  ?"  said  Dr.  Sin- 
clair. 

"  Because  it  is  so  light,  I  should  think,  papa,"  she 
replied. 

"  That  will  not  explain  it,  my  daughter,  for  it  falls 
just  as  lightly  upon  the  chair,  or  upon  the  oil-cloth  of 
the  fire-place;  but  as  soon  as  it  touches  either  it 
bursts.  See,"  he  added,  as  Fanny  let  a  bubble  fall 
upon  the  table,  and  it  broke  instantly. 

"What  do  you  think  about  it,  Herbert  ?" 

Herbert  was  almost  unwilling  to  say  what  he 
thought,  lest  it  should  be  right,  when  Alice's  explana- 
tion had  been  wrong.  He  did  say,  however,  quite 
modestly,  that  he  supposed  it  was  owing  to  the  soft- 
ness of  the  rug. 

"  Not  to  its  softness  alone,"  replied  Dr.  Sinclair, 
"  but  to  its  softness  and  elasticity  combined.  The 
bubble  itself  is  exceedingly  elastic,  and  when  it  falls 
upon  some  surface  which  possesses  the  same  proper- 
ties it  is  not  shattered,  as  you  see.  A  bubble,  care- 
fully thrown,  will  rebound  from  the  surface  of  water, 
because  the  water  is  soft  and  somewhat  elastic." 


172  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  What  does  that  mean,  papa  ?"  said  Fanny,  who 
had  stopped  blowing  bubbles  and  was  now  listening 
to  the  conversation. 

"  Oh  !  I  forgot  that  one  of  my  auditors  had  yet  to 
learn  the  meaning  of  some  words,  and  I  must  make 
Fanny  understand  the  meaning  of  elastic.  Do  you 
see  this  piece  of  India  robber,  Fanny,  and  this  pen. 
cil  ?"  both  of  which  happened  to  lie  upon  the  mantel- 
piece; "see  what  will  happen  if  I  drop  them  both 
upon  the  floor.  The  India  rubber  has  actually  jumped 
up  into  a  chair,  and  the  pencil  tried  its  best  to  follow 
it,  but  couldn't  jump  so  high." 

Fanny  laughed,  but  said  nothing,  and  Dr.  Sinclair 
resumed. 

"  The  India  rubber  jumped  higher  than  the  pencil 
because  it  is  more  elastic;  or,  in  other  words, 
because  it  possesses  more  power  to  spring  from  a 
blow  than  the  pencil.  All  bodies  have  this  power, 
but  not  in  equal  degrees,  and  some  have  so  little  of 
it,  that  they  have  been  called  inelastic." 

Fanny  did  not  seem  quite  to  understand  her 
father's  explanation,  and  he  very  kindly  went  into  the 
laboratory  and  brought  out  a  frame,  upon  the  top 
cross-piece  of  which,  were  suspended,  by  strings,  balls 
of  ivory  and  balls  of  hard  clay.  Removing  all  but 
two  balls  of  clay,  he  drew  them  apart  and  then  let 
them  fall  so  as  to  strike  each  other.  They  rebounded 
very  slightly.  He  then  substituted  two  ivory  balls, 
and  repeated  the  experiment.  The  balls  were  driven 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  173 

apart  over  almost  the  whole  space  which  divided 
them,  when  they  were  let  fall  upon  each  other.  Fanny 
now  saw  and  understood  better  the  different  elastici- 
ties of  bodies. 

"  Fanny  just  now  tailed  these  frail  bubbles  '  her 
pretty  balls,' "  he  went  on,  "  and  they  may  be  tossed 
like  balls,  notwithstanding  Herbert's  opinion  that 
they  are  too  soft." 

"  How,  papa  ]"  said  Mary,  eagerly ;  "please  show 
us  how." 

"  With  pleasure,  my  dear  child,"  and  Dr.  Sinclair 
x>ok  the  pipe  again,  and  slowly  blowing  a  bubble 
about  the  size  of  an  orange,  he  detached  it,  and  as  it 
fell  presented  his  knee  to  it,  from  which  it  gracefully 
rebounded.  As  it  fell  again,  he  presented  his  other 
knee  with  a  like  result,  and  very  much  to  the  delight 
of  the  spectators,  kept  the  bubble  rising  and  falling 
at  least  half  a  score  of  times  before  it  burst. 

"  But  let  us  not  dismiss  the  bubbles  without  learn- 
ing some  more  useful  lessons  from  them,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair.  He  then  took  the  cup  into  his  hands,  and 
blowing  a  few  moments  into  the  soap-suds,  raised  a 
pyramid  of  small,  glittering  bubbles.  Alice,  whose 
perceptions  were  now  quickened  by  the  desire  to  find 
something  new  in  every  amusement,  called  the  atten- 
tion of  her  father  to  the  shape  of  these  minute  bub- 
bles. 

"  See,  papa,"  she  exclaimed,  "  they  are  not  round 
like  those  which  escape  from  the  pipe,  but  have  a 


174  HAKRV'S  VACATION;  on, 

number  of  sides,  like  one  of  those  Avooden  blocks  ir. 
your  geometry  case." 

"  True,  Alice,  and  if  you  will  give  me  a  reason  for 
this  difference  of  shape,  I  think  Herbert  and  Harry 
will  be  glad." 

"  I  can  not  tell,  papa,  unless  it  is  because  they  are 
so  close  together  in  the  cue,  they  have  not  room  to 
be  round." 

"  Oh  !  that  must  be  it,"  said  Herbert,  "  for  see,  Dr. 
Sinclair,  the  outer  ones  are  round  except  when  they 
join  the  ones  below  them." 

"  Well  said,  my  young  friend.  Alice  is  right  and 
you  have  demonstrated  it.  We  are  getting  along 
finely.  The  bubbles  press  upon  each  other,  and 
being  very  elastic,  take  the  shape  most  convenient  for 
close  contact.  What  sort  of  figures  do  these  crowded 
bubbles  make,  Alice  ?" 

"  Hexagons,  I  think,  sir,  though  I  am  not  sure." 

"  Yes,  they  are  figures  of  six  equal  sides.  But  let 
us  blow  a  bubble  and  see  what  else  we  can  find  out 
about  it.  Harry,  do  you  try  to  give  us  a  monster  one." 

Harry  was  soon  blowing  away  earnestly  but  gently, 
for  he  had  already  spoiled  one  promising  effort  by 
the  violence  of  his  breathing.  The  bubble  expanded 
and  waved,  and  appeared  to  the  eye  to  be  whirling 
around  as  it  grew  in  size. 

"  But,  papa,"  said  Alice,  "  that  is  net  a  round 
bubble  which  brother  Harry  is  blowing.  It  is  staped 
more  like  an  egg.  What  is  the  reason  of  it  1" 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  175 

Dr.  Sinclair  replied  by  directing  Harry  to  throw 
off  the  bubble,  and  immediately  it  was  floating 
buoyantly  upon  the  elastic  waves  of  the  air,  as  round 
as  the  most  perfect  sphere, 

"  There,  Alice,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  it  is  round 
enough  now.  What  was  it  that  drew  it  out  of  shape 
when  it  was  on  the  pipe  ?" 

"  Was  it  not  the  force  of  the  breath,  papa  ?"  said 
Harry. 

"  Partly,  I  have  no  doubt,  my  son,  but  not  chiefly  ; 
for  even  when  you  ceased  to  blow,  it  was  still  a  little 
oblong." 

"  Oh !  I  sec,  sir,"  exclaimed  Herbert,  "  it  was  its 
weight." 

"  But  it  is  just  as  heavy  now,  Herbert,  and  it  is 
not  oblong." 

Herbert  was  puzzled,  and  none  of  his  young  friends 
could  help  him.  So  Dr.  Sinclair  relieved  him  from 
liis  dilemna,  by  saying — 

"  You  were  not  altogether  wrong,  in  fact,  Herbert, 
though  you  did  not  quite  grasp  the  cause.  It  was  its 
weight ;  but  if  you  had  said  its  gravity,  it  would  have 
been  better.  The  air  which  the  bubble  contains 
presses  equally  in  every  direction,  and  so  makes  the 
film  of  soap  which  incloses  it  perfectly  spherical 
when  it  is  free,  but  while  the  bubble  is  fastened  to 
the  pipe,  the  air  can  not  act  freely,  and  so  the  bubble 
gravitates  like  the  leaf  of  the  forest  toward  the  earth." 

"Why  di-3  the  bubble  fall,  papa?"  said  Mary,  as 


176  HARRY'S  PACATION  ;  OR, 

the  one  just  mentioned,  after  tossing  a  moment  on 
the  air,  sunk  to  the  floor. 

"  Because  it  is  heavier  than  the  air,  my  daughter, 
by  just  the  weight  of  the  soap  which  forms  its  deli- 
cate covering." 

"  And  are  no  bubbles  lighter  than  the  air  ?"  asked 
Alice. 

"  Certainly  not ;  at  least  none  which  are  filled  with 
air." 

"  Why  then  do  some  of  them  go  up  without  being 
blown  ?" 

"  They  never  do  in  a  quiet  air.  If  they  rise  at  all, 
it  must  be  from  some  impulse  of  the  air  below 
them." 

"  I  have  seen  them  sail  out  of  sight  in  the  open 
air,"  said  Herbert,  "but  I  knew  it  was  the  wind 
which  carried  them." 

"  If  our  kind  friend,  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  comes  over  this 
afternoon,  as  he  said  he  would,  I  will  show  you  some 
bubbles  which  will  rise  very  rapidly  without  any 
wind  or  motion  of  the  air  at  all,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair. 

"  Oh !  I  am  quite  sure  he  will  come,"  said  Alice. 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  took  the  pipe  and  proceeded  to 
blow  a  bubble,  and  having  carefully  swung  it  off  into 
the  air  just  above  his  head,  he  blew  it  with  a  quick 
short  breath,  and  it  separated  into  four  or  five  smaller 
bubbles,  which  went  dancing  and  whirling  off  in  vari- 
ous  directions. 

The  young  people  were  all  interested  and  delighted 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  177 

with  this  pretty  and  somewhat  delicate  experiment. 
Fanny  tried  it,  but  in  vain ;  she  puffed  the  bubble 
out.  The  others  had  no  better  success,  and  even  Dr. 
Sinclair  failed  the  second  tune.  He  repeated  it,  how- 
ever, with  such  success  as  to  assure  them  that  it  was 
not  merely  "  a  happy  accident,"  but  a  process  gov- 
erned by  laws. 

To  the  eager  demand  for  an  explanation,  he  replied 
that  it  was  probably  owing  to  a  principle  called 
Inertia,  or  the  disposition  of  matter  to  remain  in  the 
condition  which  it  had  been  placed  in,  and  which  he 
would  wait  for  some  better  example  to  illustrate 
more  fully.  He  added  that  the  suddenness  of  the 
shock  upon  the  bubble  broke  it;  but  such  was  the  tena- 
city of  the  film  which  composed  it  that  it  enveloped 
the  fragments  immediately,  and  the  air  instantly 
pressed  them  into  spheres.  With  this  somewhat 
obscure  explanation,  the  Doctor  laid  down  the  pipe, 
and  left  the  children  to  amuse  themselves  with  such 
further  experiments  with  the  bubbles  as  they  might 
please  to  make. 

They  did  not  continue  the  sport  long,  for  it  lacked 
a  charm  which  they  had  only  just  begun  to  realize — 
the  charm  of  being  made  a  medium  of  instruction  to 
the  mind.  They  saw  the  exquisite  hues  of  the  bub- 
bles at  certain  stages  of  their  expansion,  but  they 
could  not  conjecture  the  cause  of  them.  They  even 
noticed  that  one  very  large  bubble,  which  had  lasted 
so  long  as  to  excite  their  special  wonder,  and  which 


178  HARRY'S  VACAIIOX. 

had  been  exceedingly  beautiful  with  variegated 
colours,  suddenly  turned  almost  black,  and  vanished 
instantly  "  into  thin  air."  This  puzzled  them  also, 
and  they  wisely  resolved  to  learn  more,  at  an  early 
opportunity,  about  the  philosophy  of  a  soap-bubble, 
which  had  thus  suddenly  become,  to  some  of  them, 
at  least,  something  more  than  it  seemed.  They  had 
already  arrived  at  one  of  the  happiest  results  of 
increasing  knowledge — an  earnest  desire  to  know  yet 
more. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

The  Return-.  -Anecdote  of  the  Iron  Duke — Napoleon  and  Welling* 
ton — Sir  H  amphrey  Davy — A  Chemical  Process. 

1VTOT  long  after  dinner,  Mr.  Oldbuckle  and  William, 
J_\  true  to  their  promise,  made  their  appearance, 
and  were  warmly  welcomed  by  the  young  people, 
who  were  reckoning  upon  Dr.  Sinclair's  promise  for 
some  very  delightful  amusement.  Of  this,  Harry 
did  not  fail  immediately  to  remind  him ;  but  as  Mr. 
Oldbuckle  had  brought  with  him  the  London  Times, 
containing  a  full  account  of  the  magnificent  funeral 
obsequies  of  the  late  Duke  of  Wellington,  he  claimed 
the  privilege  first  of  glancing  over  it,  and  afterwards 
the  conversation  naturally  turned  upon  the  character 
and  career  of  the  illustrious  soldier. 

"By  the  by,  Dr.  Sinclair,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle, 
"  I  have  heard  a  new  and  characteristic  anecdote  of 
the  '  Iron  Duke,'  which  I  must  beg  permission  to 
relate  to  you." 

"  By  all  means,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  I  feel  interested 
in  every  thing  that  concerns  the  brave  old  hero." 

"  Well,  then,"  resumed  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  the  Duke 
saw,  at  a  late  exhibition  of  the  Royal  Academy,  two 
pictures  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo,  both  painted  by 
Sir  William  Allen.  In  one  of  these  pictures  the 


180  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

figure  of  Napoleon  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  the 
foreground.  This  picture  the  Duke  resolved  to 
purchase,  and  having  agreed  with  the  painter  about 
the  price,  requested  him  to  send  it  to  Apsley  House, 
the  city  residence  of  the  Duke,  and  to  call  there  on 
a  given  day  to  receive  payment. 

The  picture  was  sent  accordingly,  and  on  the  day 
named  Sir  William  Allen  waited  upon  the  Duke. 
He  was  shown  into  the  Duke's  library,  and  after 
some  conversation,  Wellington  went  to  his  escritoire, 
and  producing  a  bag  of  sovereigns,  commenced 
counting  out  the  price  of  the  picture.  Sir  William 
suggested  to  him  that  it  would  save  him  trouble  to 
draw  a  check  upon  his  bankers,  but  the  Duke  went 
on  with  his  counting.  The  artist  renewed  his  sug- 
gestion, supposing  that  the  Duke  had  not  heard  it, 
when  the  old  soldier  raised  his  head  and  exclaimed 
with  a  smile,  "  Do  you  think,  Sir  William,  that  I  am 
willing  to  let  them  know  at  Coutts's,  what  a  fool  I 
have  made  of  myself!" 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  joined  heartily  in  the  laugh  which 
his  anecdote  occasioned,  and  added — "  Capital,  is  n't 
it,  just  like  the  '  Iron  Duke'  for  all  the  world  ?" 

Dr.  Sinclair  assented  to  his  friend's  remark. 

"What  is  the  'Iron  Duke,'  papa?"  said  Fanny. 
"  Is  it  a  statute  like  that  in  the  garden  ?" 

At  this  question,  there  was  such  a  burst  of  laughter 
'.hat  the  little  girl  was  almost  overwhelmed,  but  papa 
soon  came  to  her  relief,  and  explained  to  her  the 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  181 

difference  between  a  statue  and  a  statute.  He  then 
told  her  that  the  great  Duke  of  Wellington  had  been 
called  the  "  Iron  Duke,"  because  he  had  fought  so 
many  battles  and  had  been  through  so  many  dangers 
without  harm  to  his  person. 

"  I  should  like  to  become  as  famous  as  the  Duke 
of  Wellington,"  said  Harry. 

"  Would  you  not  rather  have  been  Napoleon  ]" 
inquired  Herbert,  with  real  enthusiasm. 

"  Not  I,"  said  Harry.  "  I  think  Napoleon  was  as 
selfish  as  he  was  great." 

"  Oh !  no,"  rejoined  Herbert,  "  I  do  not  think  so. 
Do  you  think  so,  Alice  ?" 

Alice  did  think  so,  but  she  wished  to  spare  Herbert 
the  mortification  of  telling  him  so,  and  she  replied 
with  some  hesitation, 

"  He  certainly  professed  to  do  every  thing  for 
France;  but  then,"  she  added,  "he  seemed  to  think 
that  he  was  France." 

"  Bravo,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  bravo,  my  bird, 
that  is  just  it !  He  loved  France,  because  in  his 
estimation,  France  was  Napoleon,  and  Napoleon  was 
France." 

"  Nay,"  interposed  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  I  think  it  was 
almost  impossible  for  Napoleon  to  separate  himself 
from  his  country,  when  he  saw  how  all  his  country, 
men  hung  upon  his  word  as  their  law." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  we  will  not  make 
another  Waterloo  of  this  pleasant  library,  where  all 


182  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

around  us  breathes  of  peace.  "Wellington  needs  not  a 
second  time  to  conquer  Napoleon,  and  I  need  not,"  he 
added  with  a  smile,  "seek  to  aggrandize  my  successful 
hero,  by  depreciating  the  vanquished  hero  of  that 
unparalleled  field  of  battle." 

"  So  let  us  make,  instead  of  a  Waterloo,  a  St. 
Helena  of  this  room,  and  bury  here  the  great  Napo- 
leon," playfully  added  Dr.  Sinclair. 

"  Requiescat  in  pace,"  said  William  Sinclair,  who 
had  come  in  just  as  the  conversation  was  drawing  to 
a  close. 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  could  not  help  adding, 

"  But  they  wouldn't  do  even  that,  William,  and 
must  needs  take  his  bones  to  Paris,  the  scene  of  his 
magnificent  plans  for  conquering  Europe." 

William  Sinclair  had  too  great  a  respect  for  his 
father's  friend,  to  appear  to  notice  the  sarcasm  of  his 
words,  though  he  had  formed,  in  the  school  of  Carlyle 
and  Hazlitt,  an  estimate  of  Napoleon's  character  in 
many  respects  antagonistic  to  that  of  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

As  soon  as  the  war  of  the  heroes  was  brought  to 
an  end,  Harry  again  reminded  his  father  of  his  pro- 
mise to  show  them  those  magic  soap-bubbles,  which 
rise  without  compulsion. 

Dr.  Sinclair  then  told  his  guest  of  the  simple 
amusement  of  the  morning,  how  they  had  looked  for 
beauty  in  bubbles,  and  found  also  books  therein,  or 
what  was  equivalent,  knowledge,  which  forms  the 
vest  material  for  books.  Mr.  Oldbuckle  was  de- 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  183 

lighted,  and  said  that  he  had  such  a  passion  fo* 
blowing  bubbles,  that  he  must  beg  to  have  the  lesson 
repeated,  with  all  the  explanations,  for  his  gratification. 

"I  have  promised  the  young  people  a  different 
lesson  for  this  afternoon,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  though 
it  was  suggested  by  that  of  the  morning.  I  must  ask 
your  aid,  my  dear  sir,  or  that  of  William,  a  little 
while  in  the  laboratory." 

"Most  willingly  shall  I  elect  myself  adjunct  Pro- 
fessor of  Natural  Philosophy,  in  Sinclair  University," 
said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  wita  great  good  humour,  and  he 
started  up  to  enter  at  once  upon  his  duties. 

The  whole  party  descended  into  the  laboratory, 
and  prepared  to  watch,  with  eagerness,  the  prepara- 
tions for  their  amusement. 

"  I  told  you,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  that  no  bubbles 
filled  with  air  would  rise  of  themselves.  You  all  saw 
that  however  they  were  driven  about,  they  finally 
descended  to  the  ground,  if  they  did  not  burst  before- 
hand." 

"But,''  said  Harry,  "suppose  you  could  make 
them  quite  empty,  papa;  they  would  rise  then,  would 
they  not?" 

"  I  will  show  you,  by  and  by,  my  son,  that  bubbles 
could  not  exist  without  air  inside." 

"  Now,  papa,  I  must  convict  you  of  a  contradic- 
tion," said  Alice,  "  for  you  told  us  this  morning  that 
no  bubbles  filled  with  air  can  be  lighter  than  air. 
Now  you  tell  us  that  bubbles  can  not  exist  without 


184  HAHRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

air  inside,  and  yet  you  are  going  to  show  us  bubbles 
that  will  rise  in  the  air,  because  they  are  lighter  than 
the  air." 

"  Very  well  reasoned,  my  bird,  and  your  worthy 
papa  stands  convicted  of  a  contradiction,  from  which 
he  must  now  clear  himself,"  was  the  laughing  com- 
ment of  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  That  I  can  easily  do,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  smiling 
with  pleasure  at  the  prompt  operation  of  his  daugh- 
ter's mind  in  detecting  the  apparent  error  in  his 
premises ;  "  but  I  must  confess  to  having  involved 
myself  in  this  dilemma,  by  a  too  free  use  of  words.  I 
said  that  a  bubble  could  not  exist  without  air  inside, 
when  I  ought  to  have  said  without  an  aeriform  fluid, 
something  resembling  air  in  some  of  its  properties. 
My  magic  bubbles  are  to  be  filled  not  with  air,  but 
with  an  aeriform  fluid,  called  gas." 

"  The  truth  dawns  upon  me,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle, 
"  you  are  about  to  press  chemistry  into  the  service 
of  sport,  and  make  toys  of  some  of  her  mysterious 
paraphernalia.  What  would  the  spirit  of  the  illus- 
trious Sir  Humphrey  Davy  say  to  such  a  profana- 
tion?" 

Fanny  lifted  up  her  blue  eyes  in  evident  dismay 
at  these  long  words,  and  Doctor  Sinclair,  laughingly, 
replied, 

"  Very  true,  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  I  am  about  to  make 
chemistry  minister  to  our  pleasure,  but  1  need  hardly 
remind  you,  my  dear  friend,  that  Sir  Humphrey 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  185 

Davy  himself  condescended  to  blow  just  such  soap- 
bubbles  for  the  amusement  of  little  people  like  these 
around  us." 

"  I  did  not  know  that  interesting  fact,"  replied  Dr. 
Sinclair,  "  but  I  do  not  wonder  at  it ;  for  I  know  that 
he  was  a  kind-hearted  man  as  well  as  a  great  philo- 
sopher." 

"  That  he  certainly  was,  or  he  wouldn't  have  spent 
so  much  time  in  inventing  a  safety-lamp  for  the  use  of 
the  miners,"  said  William  Sinclair.  "  If  he  had  done 
nothing  more  for  the  world  than  that,  he  would  still 
be  one  of  its  great  benefactors ;  for  it  saves,  every 
year,  a  large  number  of  lives,  and  enables  the  colliers 
to  work  in  some  mines,  which  without  it,  they  would 
have  to  abandon." 

Harry's  eyes  were  now  sparkling  with  an  evident 
desire  to  say  something,  and  his  father  perceiving  it, 
said, 

"  Well,  Harry,  what  is  it  ?" 

"  O  papa,  I  couldn't  help  thinking  of  the  curious 
way  in  which  I  saw  the  name  of  the  great  philosopher 
spelled  the  other  day." 

"  How  was  it  spelled,  Harry  ?"  inquired  Mr.  Old- 
buckle. 

"  Oh !  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  so  very  queer.     It  was  in 
the  paper  I  saw  it,  and  it  was  said  to  be  an  exact  copy 
of  the  spelling  upon  a  letter  found  among  the  philo- 
sopher's papers  after  his  death.    It  was  spelt  thus  : 
'  S  r  u  mfr  e  d  a  v .'  " 


186  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

"  Rather  a  doubtful  story,  Harry,  but  still  a  very 
amusing  one,"  said  his  father,  laughing,  with  all  the 
rest,  at  this  exti'aordinary  spell  of  English. 

All  this  while,  Dr.  Sinclair  had  been  at  work.  He 
had  placed  a  Florence  flask,  such  as  sweet  oil  comes 
in  from  Italy,  upon  a  stand,  and  fitted  to  its  neck  a 
bent  glass  tube,  the  end  of  which  he  made  to  pass 
under  water  in  a  wooden  cistern  or  tub  which  stood 
near  by.  Mr.  Oldbuckle  busied  himself  in  preparing 
a  bag  made  of  India-rubber  cloth  and  fitted,  at  its  only 
orifice,  with  a  screw  and  stop-cock.  This  he  set 
open,  and  then  rolled  the  bag  closely  so  as  to  expel 
all  the  air  it  contained.  This  done,  he  closed  the 
stop-cock  and  screwed  it  into  another  at  the  top  of  a 
large  bell-glass,  which  stood  upon  a  shelf  in  the  cis- 
tern already  mentioned.  The  bell-glass  had  no  bottom, 
but,  nevertheless,  it  stood  there  quite  full  of  water,  to 
Herbert's  great  wonder ;  which  Alice  herself  could 
not  explain  to  him,  although  she  had  some  idea  of  the 
cause.  I  believe  they  both  found  out  all  about  it 
during  the  holidays.  When  all  these  arrangements 
were  made,  Dr.  Sinclair  withdrew  the  tube  from  the 
mouth  of  the  flask,  and  put  in,  with  his  fingers,  quite 
a  number  of  small  shining  pieces  of  zinc,  till  the  bot- 
tom was  pretty  well  covered.  He  then  poured  into 
the  flask,  from  a  glass  jar,  a  mixture,  nearly  colourless, 
of  water  and  what  is  commonly  called  oil  of  vitriol. 
This  mixture  he  had  made  carefully  some  time  before. 
As  soon  as  he  had  done  this,  he  replaced  the  tube,  and 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  187 

immediately  there  was  a  violent  commotion  among 
the  materials  in  the  flask.  The  fluid  appeared  to 
boil  vehemently,  and  the  pieces  of  zinc  moved  about 
rapidly,  while  from  the  end  of  the  tube  in  the  water 
there  escaped  great  bubbles  of  air.  Dr.  Sinclair  had 
removed  the  tube,  so  that  these  bubbles  did  not  go 
up  into  the  bell-glass.  In  a  few  moments,  he  held  a 
lighted  splinter  of  wood  just  over  the  escaping  bub- 
bles, and  they  at  first  took  fire  and  snapped  loudly, 
but,  afterward,  burned  with  a  pale  flame  and  faint 
noise.  He  now  placed  the  tube  so  that  the  bubbles 
ascended  into  the  bell-glass,  which  they  did  with  great 
rapidity,  causing  the  water  to  descend  until  it  was  all 
expelled. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Oldbuckle  had  filled  another  bell- 
glass  and  raised  it  upon  the  shelf,  and  when  the  first 
was  quite  emptied  of  water,  Dr.  Sinclair  carried  the 
tube  rapidly  beneath  the  full  bell-glass,  into  which 
the  bubbles  ascended  as  before,  only  a  little  more 
slowly,  until,  in  a  few  minutes,  they  ceased  altogether 
to  rise. 

Alice  observed  to  Herbert  that  the  boiling  in  the 
flask  was  quite  over,  and  that  the  whole  mass  was 
somewhat  swollen  and  quite  black. 

While  the  second  bell-glass  was  filling,  or  as 
Fanny  would  have  it,  "getting  empty,"  Mr.  Old- 
buckle  and  William  Sinclair  were  doing  something 
which  arrested  the  attention  of  the  little  people. 
They  had  moved  the  bell-glass  from  the  shelf  into 


188  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

the  deeper  water  of  the  cistern,  and  when  Mr.  Old- 
buckle  had  opened  the  stop-cock  of  the  gas-bag, 
which  he  held  up  above  the  jar,  William  pressed  the 
glass  down  into  the  water.  The  bag  swelled  as  the 
bell  sunk,  until  in  a  few  moments  the  bell  was  again 
full  of  water  and  quite  at  the  bottom  of  the  cistern. 
Mr.  Oldbuckle  then  reclosed  the  stop-cock,  and 
unscrewing  the  bag  from  the  glass,  he  waved  it  with 
the  air  of  a  magician,  exclaiming — 

"  Now,  my  bird,  now  for  the  magic  bubbles  which 
are  to  rise  without  wind  to  propel  them  !" 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Hydrogen  Gas— Its  Levity — More  Soap-bubbles — Miniature  Bal- 
loons— Origin  of  Balloons — Dr.  Sinclair's  Balloon — Its  Ascent — 
Effect  of  Ilydrogen  upon  the  Voice. 

THE  young  people  had  watched  with  interest  and 
curiosity  the  operations  of  Dr.  Sinclair,  and 
they  listened  attentively  to  his  brief  description  of 
the  process  he  had  pursued. 

"The  bubbles,"  said  he,  "which  you  have  seen 
escaping  from  the  end  of  the  tube,  and  ascending  into 
the  bell-glass,  are  not  such  as  would  rise  in  it  if  I 
were  to  blow  through  a  tube.  Each  one  of  them  is 
a  small  volume  of  hydrogen  gas." 

"  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  term,  hydrogen,  Her- 
bert, or  did  your  etymological  studies  stop  short  of 
scientific  words  ?"' 

"  They  included  many,  sir ;  but  I  am  sorry  that  I 
can  not  answer  your  question,"  said  the  young  boy, 
frankly. 

"  Hydrogen  is  a  term  made  from  two  Greek 
words,  and  means  to  form  water.  It  is  the  most 
abundant  element  of  water,  every  drop  of  which  is 
composed  of  two  gases,  the  hydrogen,  of  which  I  am 
speaking,  and  another,  called  oxygen.  A  drop  of 
water  converted  into  these  two  gases  occupies  ^  ?»•«» 


190  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

many  limes  as  great  as  before,  and  the  hydrogen  fills 
two  thirds  of  it.  This  gas  is  a  very  extraordinary 
fluid,  for  it  is  highly  inflammable,  and  exceedingly 
light.  Perhaps  Alice  can  tell  us  how  many  times 
lighter  it  is  than  the  air  we  breathe." 

"Fifteen  times,  sir,"  she  replied,  "according  to 
Mrs.  Marcet." 

"  Then,  of  course,"  continued  her  father,  "  if  we 
can  succeed  in  filling  some  of  these  filmy  bubbles 
with  this  gas,  they  will  be  lighter  than  the  atmosphere 
and  ascend  in  it." 

"  But  how  are  we  to  do  that  ?"  said  Harry. 

"  Very  easily  indeed,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  by 
means  of  this  bag,  which  will  serve  instead  of  lungs." 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  took  the  bag  and  fastened  a 
tobacco-pipe  to  the  end  of  the  stop-cock.  He  then 
introduced  the  pipe  into  a  bowl  of  strong  soap-suds, 
and  opening  the  stop-cock,  he  pressed  the  sides  of  the 
bag  gently,  and  the  soap-suds  were  immediately  cov- 
ered with  minute  bubbles.  Upon  withdrawing  the 
pipe  and  again  pressing  the  bag,  he  produced  a  bubble 
about  the  size  of  a  small  orange,  which,  to  the  great 
admiration  of  the  young  people,  did  not  wait  to  be 
shook  off  the  pipe,  but  detached  itself,  and  soared 
away  rapidly  to  the  ceiling,  against  which  it  burst. 
One  or  two  other  bubbles  of  equal  size,  followed  it 
in  like  manner. 

"  There,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  there,  boys,  you 
have  bona-fide  balloons." 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  191 

"  Oh !  yes,"  exclaimed  Harry,  "  I  recollect  now, 
Herbert,  that  when  we  went  to  see  the  great  balloon 
go  up  from  Castle  Garden,  Mr.  Wiseman  told  us  that 
it  was  filled  with  hydrogen  gas,  and  that  the  gas  in 
the  balloon  was  so  much  lighter  than  the  same  bulk 
of  air,  that  even  the  silk,  and  cords,  and  car,  and 
every  thing  in  it  did  not  make  it  so  heavy." 

"  Yes,  Harry,  and  when  I  said  that  I  should  like 
very  much  to  go  up  in  the  balloon,  Mr.  Wiseman 
said  that  I  should  feel  very  differently  if  I  were 
actually  in  the  car,  after  the  rope  was  cut  that  held  it 
down." 

"  Oh !  how  handsomely  it  shot  up,"  said  Harry, 
"  when  the  rope  was  cut,  just  like  one  of  these  light 
bubbles,  though  it  swayed  about  a  good  deal  when  it 
first  started." 

"  That  was  owing,  perhaps,  to  the  man  waving  the 
flag,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle.  "I  saw  a  balloon-car 
nearly  upset  once,  by  the  carelessness  of  the  man  in 
it,  but  he  soon  became  more  quiet." 

"  Can  any  one  of  you  tell  me  when,  and  by  whom, 
the  balloon  was  invented  ?"  asked  Dr.  Sinclair. 

"In  1782,  by  Montgolfier,  a  Frenchman,"  said 
Alice. 

"  Where  did  you  learn  so  much,  Alice  ?  not  from 
Mrs.  Marcet,  I  think." 

Amid  the  playful  laughter  which  this  allusion  to 
Alice's  usual  authority  produced,  the  blushing  girl 
replied — 


192  IIARRV'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  Not  from  Mrs.  Marcet,  I  acknowledge,  "but  from 
a  'Kecord  of  Interesting  Events,'  which  I  cut  out 
of  a  newspaper  and  committed  to  memory." 

Her  father  applauded  her  thoughtfulness,  and  Her- 
bert admired  her  intelligence,  though  without  say- 
ing so. 

"  But,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  the  balloon  of  the 
Montgolfiers — for  there  were  two  of  them,  Joseph 
and  Stephen — was  not  a  gas-balloon.  It  was  an  air- 
balloon." 

"  How  then  could  it  be  made  to  rise  1"  inquired 
Herbert,  remembering  the  allusion  to  that  point  in 
the  case  of  the  bubbles. 

"  Ah !  how,  indeed  ?"  chimed  in  Harry,  thinking 
that  his  school-fellow  had  really  caught  their  anti- 
quated friend  napping. 

"  By  making  the  air  of  the  balloon  much  thinner 
than  the  external  air,"  was  Mr.  Oldbuckle's  quiet 
answer. 

"  How  could  that  be  done,  sir  1"  said  Herbert. 

"  By  heating  it.  The  Montgolfier  balloon  consisted 
of  a  large  bag  of  silk  of  a  curious  figure,  called  by  a 
very  hard  name,  which  would  puzzle  Fanny  too 
much  for  me  to  venture  on  it.  The  mouth  of  the 
bag  was  left  open,  so  that  they  could  introduce 
lighted  paper,  the  heat  of  which  so  rarefied  the  air  hi 
the  bag  that  it  rose,  first  to  the  ceiling  of  the  room, 
and  afterwards,  to  a  height  of  seventy-five  feet  in  the 
open  air.  This  was  the  first  air-balloon.  They  made 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  1U3 

larger  balloons  afterwards,  which  succeeded  very  well 
indeed." 

The  young  people  listened  with  great  interest  to 
this  history,  and  whan  Mr.  Oldbuckle  ceased,  Alice 
eagerly  inquired — 

"  When  was  gas  first  employed  to  fill  the  bal- 
loon, sir  ?" 

"  Not  very  long  after  the  experiments  of  the 
Montgolfiers,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  Was  it  M.  Charles  or  M.  Robert  who  made  the 
first  gas-balloon?"  inquired  William  Sinclair.  "  The 
question  seems  to  be  somewhat  debated." 

"  It  is  debated,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  but  I  think 
it  was  M.  Charles ;  and  his  balloon,  made  of  silk,  and 
twelve  feet  in  diameter,  rose  several  thousand  feet 
very  rapidly,  and  descended  at  Gonisse,  fifteen  miles 
from  Paris,  where  some  peasants  attacked  it  with 
pitchforks,  supposing  it  to  be  an  evil  spirit." 

"  What  a  setxof  fools  they  must  have  been !"  said 
Harry. 

"  Did  no  one  go  up  in  that  balloon,  sir  ?"  asked 
Alice. 

"  No  one,  my  bird  ;  nor  did  any  one  ascend  in  a 
balloon  until  toward  the  end  of  1783,  when  two  men 
made  an  expedition  in  the  air,  starting  from  the  Cas- 
tle of  Muette.  They  were  in  the  air  about  half  an 
hour,  and  in  descending,  the  balloon,  which  was  made 
:>f  linen,  collapsed  and  fell  into  the  fire  employed  to 
arefy  the  air  within  it,  for  it  was  not  a  gas-balloon. 


194  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

Soon  after  this  adventure,  M.  Charles  and  M.  Bobert 
made  a  very  successful  ascension  in  a  large  gas-bal- 
loon, and  the  experiment  was  then  frequently 
repeated  both  in  France  and  England." 

"  How  I  should  love  to  see  a  real  balloon !"  said  Alice. 

"  How  I  should  like  to  go  up  in  one,  notwithstand- 
ing Mr.  Wiseman's  opinion  !"  said  Harry. 

"  So  should  not  I,"  said  his  father ;  "  I  would 
much  rather  stay  upon  terra-firma  with  Mr.  Wiseman 
and  all  other  wise  men ;  but  as  Alice  wishes  to  see  A 
real  balloon,  I  think  I  can  gratify  her." 

"  You,  papa  !     Surely,  now  you  are  joking !" 

"  No,  Alice,  I  am  in  earnest;  my  balloon  is  a  real 
one,  but  it  is  a  miniature  specimen ;"  and  as  he  spoke 
he  took  from  a  drawer  a  little  box,  and  from  the  lattei' 
he  produced  a  folded  bag,  which  seemed  to  be  made 
of  oiled-silk. 

"  This,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  is  a  bag  made  of  geld 
beater's  skin,  which,  besides  being  very  light,  is  alto 
air-tight.  It  is  striped  with  varnish  of  different 
colours  to  give  it  a  gay  appearance.  It  will  not  take 
long  to  inflate  this  with  hydrogen,  and  we  can  do  it 
very  easily  in  the  same  manner  that  we  filled  the 
India-rubber  bag." 

"And  will  you  send  it  up  out  of  doors,  papa  ?"  said 
Fanny. 

"Yes,  if  you  will  go  up  to  guide  it,  Fanny." 

"No,  thank  you,  papa,"  said  the  little  girl,  tossing 
her  curls. 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  195 

The  preparations  were  soon  made,  and  tLte  balloon 
was  filled  with  the  gas,  until  it  looked  like  a  huge 
pear.  It  was  twelve  inches  in  diameter,  and  when  it 
was  released  from  the  bell  glass  through  which  it  was 
filled,  it  suddenly  escaped  from  William  Sinclair's 
hands  and  ascended  rapidly  to  the  ceiling,  where  it 
remained  until  a  chair  was  brought  and  the  truant 
secured. 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  asked  Fanny  for  her  little  basket, 
which  she  ran  to  fetch,  and  when  it  was  brought,  he 
fastened  it  to  the  neck  of  the  balloon  with  blue  rib- 
ands, and  put  into  it  a  figure  made  of  pith,  to  whom 
he  told  Fanny  he  was  going  to  entrust  the  guidance 
of  the  balloon.  lie  next  fastened  a  fine  but  strong 
flax-thread  to  the  neck  of  the  balloon,  and  with  these 
preparations  the  party,  now  joined  by  Mrs.  Sinclair, 
by  special  invitation,  adjourned  to  the  lawn  to  send 
it  up  in  the  air. 

Dr.  Sinclair  himself  took  charge  of  the  ascent,  tell- 
ing William  that  he  could  not  trust  Fanny's  basket  to 
his  slippery  fingers.  The  air  was  still  and  the  sun 
shone  out  pleasantly,  when  the  little  aeronaut  departed 
on  his  voyage.  Up  shot  the  balloon  rapidly,  and 
Fanny  again  clapped  her  hands  with  delight,  while 
Harry  commemorated  the  event  by  discharging  a 
small  cannon. 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  invoked  the  breezes  to  be  propi- 
tious to  their  bold  adventure,  and  Dr.  Sinclair  kept 
fast  hold  of  the  line  which  bound  the  balloon  to  the 


196  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OB, 

earth.  Still  it  rose  until  he  had  no  string  remaining, 
having  paid  out  upwards  of  five  hundred  feet,  at 
which  elevation  the  balloon  looked  scarcely  larger 
than  a  large  bubble,  and  the  little  wicker  car  was 
lost  to  sight. 

While  they  were  looking  up  with  great  interest, 
the  balloon  suddenly  swayed  in  the  air,  and  began 
tugging  at  the  string  with  a  force  which  betokened 
the  danger  of  its  breaking  away,  before  a  current  of 
air  which  had  evidently  encountered  it.  But  by 
skillful  management,  Dr.  Sinclair  brought  the  voy- 
ager to  the  earth  again,  to  the  delight  of  all  the  spec- 
tators. The  travelled  basket  was  restored  to  its 
laughing  owner,  who  was  told  that  she  must  prize  it 
more  than  ever.  The  little  man  of  pith  received  the 
congratulations  of  the  merry  company,  of  which, 
however,  he  took  no  notice.  The  balloon  was  moored 
to  the  table  of  the  laboratory,  where  each  one  tried 
its  ascending  force  by  pulling  upon  the  string. 

While  Dr.  Sinclair  was  hesitating  whether  to  dis- 
charge the  gas  from  the  balloon,  or  not,  William 
proposed  to  give  them  a  very  novel  experiment  with 
the  hydrogen,  and  one  which  he  had  successfully  per- 
formed during  the  University  course  of  lectures. 
This  was  to  inhale  the  gas  and  exhibit  its  effects  upon 
the  voice.  Mr.  Oldbuckle  was  somewhat  opposed  to 
his  doing  this,  as  he  had  always  considered  hydrogen 
to  be  unfit  for  the  lungs.  Dr.  Sinclair,  however, 
knew  more  of  its  actual  properties,  and  had  more 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  197 

than  once  tried  the  effect  of  breathing  it  for  some 
moments.  He  therefore  consented  that  William 
should  try  the  experiment. 

"Do  not  breathe  it  too  long,  my  young  friend," 
said  worthy  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  whose  old-school  notions 
were  not  altogether  dissipated  by  the  doctor's  testi- 
mony, that  hydrogen  gas  is  not  really  injurious  to 
the  lungs. 

"That  I  can't  do,"  said  William,  "for  when  my 
lungs  are  full  of  it,  I  can't  continue  the  act  of  inspira- 
tion, as  they  stop  of  themselves." 

He  then  threw  out  the  air  from  his  lungs,  and  im- 
mediately applied  his  mouth  to  the  orifice  of  the 
gas-bag,  and  inhaled  its  contents.  He  breathed  the 
gas  for  several  moments,  and  then  withdrawing  the 
bag  from  his  mouth,  commenced  reciting  with  furious 
gesticulations — 

"  My  voice  is  still  for  war,  gods ! 
And  should  a  Roman  Senate  long  debate 
Wliich  to  choose — liberty  or  death?" 

The  shouts  and  laughter  of  his  auditors  bore  testi- 
mony to  the  ludicrous  effect  of  the  gas  upon  his 
voice,  which,  from  being  a  full,  rotund  organ,  was 
suddenly  converted  into  a  shrill  treble,  or  half-squeak, 
much  like  that  which  escapes  from  the  orifice  of  a 
penny  trumpet ! 

The  effect  was  speedily  over,  and  Harry  insisted 
upon  it  that  his  brother  feigned  the  voice  in  which  ho 


198  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

had  recited,  nor  was  he  satisfied  until  he  had  tried 
the  experiment  for  himself,  and  set  all  his  auditors 
into  convulsive  laughter,  by  his  declamation  of  the 
famous  apostrophe : 

"You'd  scarce  expect  one  of  my  age 
To  speak  in  public  on  the  stage ; 
Don't  view  me  with  a  critic's  eye, 
But  pass  my  imperfections  by." 

"  How  do  you  account  for  this  extraordinary  effect 
of  the  gas,  upon  the  organs  of  the  voice,  my  young 
friend?"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  addressing  William 
Sinclair. 

"  By  the  quality  of  the  air  which  is  employed  to 
fill  and  work  the  organs  of  speech.  The  hydrogen  is 
too  light  to  perform  the  vocal  function  perfectly,  and 
on  account  of  its  levity,  it  soon  escapes  altogether 
from  the  lungs." 

"How  does  the  gas  taste1?"  inquired  Mr.  Old- 
buckle. 

"  It  is  almost  tasteless,  sir ;  a  little  sweetness  is  at 
first  perceptible,  but  it  does  not  continue,"  replied 
William  Sinclair. 

"This,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "is  quite  a  novel 
experiment  to  me,  and  I  thank  you  greatly  for  the 
gratification  you  have  afforded  me." 

"Surely,  sir,"  said  William,  speaking  warmly, 
"  we  are  all  under  obligation  to  you,  for  the  delight- 
ful manner  in  which  you  have  entertained  us  this 
afternoon.'1' 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  109 

"  I  hope,"  added  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  that  our  kind  friend 
will  often  join  us  in  our  philosophical  pastime,  and 
enrich  it  by  his  knowledge  and  observation." 

"  That  I  will  certainly  do  with  cordial  pleasure ; 
but  I  must  now  bid  you  all  good  bye  until  the 
morrow.  '  Pax  vobiscum,  et  valete ;' "  he  added,  as 
he  disappeared  from  the  room,  leaving  Herbert  to 
translate  his  words  for  Alice. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

The  Aurora  Borcalis — Mr.  Oldbuckle's  Appearance — Polar  Pbo 
nomena — Cause  of  the  Aurora — Dr.  Sinclair's  Illustration — The 
Electrical  Theory  Triumphant. 

it  /"\H!  brother  William,"  exclaimed  Harry,  sud 
\J     denly  appearing  at  the  door  of  the  parlour, 
"  do  come  out  and  look  at  the  sky !   there  must  be  a 
big  fire  somewhere !" 

Not  only  William  Sinclair,  but  all  the  family  an- 
swered Harry's  eager  summons,  and  gathered  upon 
the  piazza  of  the  house.  Mrs.  Sinclair  alone  took  the 
precaution  to  wrap  herself  in  a  shawl,  for  the  night 
air  was  cold  and  frosty. 

The  sky  was  glowing  with  a  bright  crimson  radi- 
ance, and  seemed  to  justify  Harry's  notion  that  it  was 
the  effect  of  a  great  conflagration.  The  peculiar  form, 
however,  of  the  luminous  area,  clearly  indicated  to 
Dr.  Sinclair  and  his  eldest  son,  that  it  was  a  display 
of  the  Aurora  Borealis,  or  Northern  Lights.  The 
upper  edge  of  the  brilliant  cloud  was  clearly  defined 
into  rays  apparently  diverging  from  the  horizon,  and 
becoming  more  faint  in  their  hues,  until  they  faded 
into  the  deep  blue  of  the  sky.  Along  the  horizon 
line,  however,  the  light  was  exceedingly  bright — sur 
passing  even  the  splendour  of  a  summer  sunset. 


PHILOSOPHY-    AT    HOME.  204 

After  they  had  all  gazed  upon  it  for  a  few  moments, 
Dr.  Sinclair  directed  Alice  to  go  for  her  cloak,  and 
recommended  to  the  boys  to  follow  the  example  he 
was  about  to  set  them  in  putting  on  an  overcoat ;  for, 
said  he — 

"  This  is  a  curious  scientific  wonder,  which  is  not  of 
such  frequent  occurrence  in  this  region  that  we  may 
overlook  it ;  and  it  will  afford  us  some  useful  as  well 
as  beautiful  lessons.  We  will  watch  the  light  for  a 
little  while." 

A  very  few  moments  sufficed  to  bring  the  group 
back  to  the  piazza,  so  well  wrapped  up  as  to  bid 
defiance  to  the  chill  air  of  a  bright  December  night. 
But  even  while  they  were  absent,  a  change  had  taken 
place  in  the  appearance  of  the  sky.  Instead  of  a 
segment  of  brilliant  crimson  light,  there  appeared 
two  or  three  arcs,  one  above  the  other,  of  rose- 
coloured  light,  separated  by  dark  intervals,  while, 
from  the  outside  arc,  there  shot  up  towards  the 
zenith,  a  fringe  of  white  and  purple,  with  perpetual 
oscillations  and  faint  flashes  throughout  its  whole 
extent. 

"  Oh !  how  beautiful !"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Sinclair, 
while  Alice  and  Mary  pressed  closer  to  their  mother's 
side,  and  gazed  in  silent  wonder  and  delight  upon  the 
unusual  scene. 

It  was  indeed  a  scene  of  indescribable  beauty,  with 
its  ever-shifting  forms  and  varying  hues.  Gradually 
the  rays  of  light  which  shot  ap  from  the  arch. 


202  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

stretched  even  to  the  zenith,  and  there  seemed  to 
gather  into  a  vast  plume,  which  waved  to  and  fro,  as 
if  swayed  by  a  wind.  The  arch  disappeared  from, 
the  horizon,  and  the  whole  glory  concentrated  in  mid- 
heavens,  so  that  our  group  of  eager  gazers  could  not 
see  it  without  going  from  beneath  the  shelter  of  the 
piazza  into  the  open  air,  which  all  but  Mary  did.  A 
vast  canopy  of  radiance  now  overspread  them,  like 
hangings  of  crimson  and  gold  tapestry,  and  the 
tremulous  motion  of  the  whole  was  like  the  moving 
of  the  royal  curtains  by  invisible  hands. 

While  they  were  yet  gazing,  Mr.  Oldbuckle  made 
his  appearance.  His  attention  had  been  called  by 
his  gardener .  to  the  singular  aspect  of  the  sky, 
and  fearing  that  the  spectacle  would  be  lost  to  his 
friends  at  Beechwood,  he  immediately  ordered  his 
horse  and  rode  over  to  enjoy  with  them  the  won- 
drous scene.  His  horse  was  soon  consigned  to  the 
care  of  the  hostler  and  he  joined  the  group,  express- 
ing his  satisfaction  that  they  were  not  unaware  of  the 
regal  beauty  of  the  sky. 

"1  could  not  bear,"  said  he,  "  to  think  that  such  a 
gorgeous  spectacle  as  this,  should  be  lost  to  you,  as  a 
similar  one  once  was  to  me  through  unconsciousness 
of  its  passing  glories." 

"  "We  are  indebted  to  Harry,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair, 
"  for  our  enjoyment  of  this  unparalleled  vision, 
though  he  mistook  it  for  a  great  conflagration  at  a 
distance." 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  203 

"  Quite  a  natural  mistake,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle, 
"  and  the  very  one  which  James  Eenton  made,  when 
he  called  my  attention  to  the  spectacle  half  an  hour 
ago.  Is  it  not  sublime !"  he  continued.  "  See  how 
the  crest,  there,  at  the  very  zenith  grows  brighter, 
until  it  seems  like  an  opening  into  a  furnace  of  molten 
glass." 

"  How  fast  the  glory  grows  dim  !"  said  William ; 
"we  have  probably  seen  the  grandest  part  of  the 
display." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  these  exhibitions  are 
frequently  as  brief  as  they  are  sublime ;  though  in 
more  northern  latitudes,  the  pageant  often  lingers  all 
night,  fading  only  with  the  coming  on  of  day." 

"  I  have  read,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "accounts  given 
oy  travellers  in  the  polar  regions,  of  these  displays, 
accompanied  by  noises  like  the  explosion  of  crackers, 
and  something  of  the  same  kind  has  been  noticed 
even  in  England." 

"  Have  you  formed  any  conclusive  opinion  of  the 
cause  of  these  lights  1"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  addressing 
his  friend. 

"  I  can  not  say  that  I  have.  Between  the  reflection 
theory  of  some  philosophers,  the  solar  hypothesis  of 
others,  and  the  more  common  notions  of  their  elec- 
trical or  magnetic  origin,  I  have  suffered  myself  to  be 
still  in  doubt." 

"It  is  indeed  a  subject  of  mystery,"  said  Dr.  Sin- 
clair, "  though  I  have  much  inclination  to  the  electrical 


204  IIAHRY'S  VACATION;  OK, 

theory.  But,"  he  added,  "  our  terms  are  too  scien- 
tific for  these  young  auditors,  who  would  doubtless 
like  to  know  the  cause  of  such  magnificent  effects. 
As  the  brilliancy  is  fast  fading  from  the  sky,  let  us 
retire,  from  this  cold  night  air,  to  the  more  genial 
atmosphere  of  the  library,  where  we  may  talk  more 
about  this  phenomenon." 

The  party  accordingly  proceeded  into  the  librarj 
where  a  bright  wood  fire  glowed  upon  the  hearth. 

"  I  do  not  wonder,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  that  th« 
ignorant  natives  of  northern  latitudes,  are  terrified  bj 
these  appearances,  and  regard  them  as  supernatural. 
Some  of  them  have  supposed  them  to  be  occasioned 
by  a  great  battle  of  the  spirits  or  gods  of  the  air, 
darting  fiery  arrows  at  each  other !" 

"  There  is  some  poetry  in  that  notion,  at  all  events," 
said  William  Sinclair,  "  and  the  savage  philosophy 
which  could  cherish  such  a  notion,  might  be  exalted 
by  true  science  to  something  noble. 

"Yes,"  said  his  father,  "I  have  always  thought 
that  the  noblest  creed  of  the  heathen  world  is  that  of 
the  Persian,  which  makes  the  sun  and  fire  objects  of 
adoration;  though  any  object-worship,  whatever,  is 
too  degrading  to  be  called  noble." 

"  I  see  the  eyes  of  Alice  are  making  eager  inquiries 
for  some  more  information  than  we  have  yet  given 
her  about  these  Northern  Lights,"  said  Mr.  Old- 
buckle  ;  "  pray  enlighten  her,  my  dear  sir." 

"  Do,  papa,  if  you  please,"  said  the  young  girl 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  205 

u  It  is  not  I  alone,  who  desire  to  know  more  about 
them." 

"  My  opinion,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  is  formed  from 
the  most  general  views  of  modern  writers,  which 
regard  these  lights  as  the  effect  of  streams  or  currents 
of  electricity,  flowing  in  a  rarefied  region  of  the 
atmosphere,  at  a  great  distance  from  the  earth,  quite 
above  the  cloud-region.  The  brilliant  colours  of 
crimson  and  purple  which  they  assume,  are  occasioned, 
perhaps,  by  the  vapours  of  the  air  which  they  decom- 
pose into  gases.  This  is  all  theory  or  supposition,  I 
know,  but  fortunately  I  have  it  in  my  power  to  make 
it  appear  quite  plausible." 

"  How,  papa  ?"  exclaimed  Alice  and  Mary,  in  a 
breath. 

"  I  will  show  you,"  he  replied,  "  with  great  plea- 
sure. To  do  so,  however,  I  shall  need  to  use  the 
electrical  machine,  with  which  I  have  already  so 
frightened  Fanny,  that  I  am  afraid  she  will  run  away 
at  the  very  mention  of  it." 

"  No,  I  won't,  papa,  if  you  will  promise  not  to 
make  it  spit  fire  at  me." 

"  Very  well,  Fan,  I  will  promise  ;"  and  so  saying, 
he  opened  a  deep  cupboard  in  the  library,  and  brought 
out  the  machine,  which  he  placed  upon  a  table.  The 
machine  was  covered  with  a  brown  linen  case  to  keep 
it  dry  and  free  from  dust.  As  the  night  was  advancing. 
Dr.  Sinclair  lost  no  time  in  getting  the  machine  into 
good  working  order,  not  a  difficult  task,  as  the  air 


206  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

was  dry  and  warm.  The  pith-balls  on  the  machine 
flew  wide  apart,  when  the  handle  "was  turned,  and  the 
sparks  were  bright  and  plentiful  from  the  prime  con- 
ductor when  the  hand  or  a  brass  ball  was  presented 
to  it. 

"  But  how  are  you  going  to  make  streams  of  elec- 
tricity flow  through  the  air,  papa  ?"  said  Harry. 

"  Have  you  any  idea  of  the  method,  Alice  ?" 
inquired  her  father. 

"  I  have  not  forgotten  what  I  learned  about  it  from 
Mrs.  Marcet,"  she  replied  with  a  quiet  laugh. 

"Who  is  this  wonderful  Mrs.  Marcet]"  whispered 
Herbert  to  Harry ;  for  he  had  not  yet  been  told  that 
she  was  the  author  of  some  very  interesting  "  Con- 
versations on  Natural  Philosophy  and  Chemistry," 
which  had  been  for  years  popular  school-books  for 
girls. 

"Some  learned  old  lady,  I  guess,"  said  Harry, 
"who  takes  an  interest  in  Ally,  and  teaches  her 
all  manner  of  odd  things  which  I  have  never  even 
heard  of." 

Alice  now  laughed  hi  earnest,  and  declared  that 
she  had  derived  both  pleasure  and  benefit  from  Mrs. 
Marcet's  "  Conversations." 

"  "Well,  my  bird,  what  does  the  learned  old  lady 
of  Harry's  fancy,  say  about  the  experiment  now  to  be 
performed  ?"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  I  do  not  recollect  her  words,  sir,  but  she  taught 
me  that  a  current  of  electricity  will  flow  through 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  207 

rarefied  air,  in  a  tube,  with  great  rapidity  and  with  a 
purple  light." 

"  Well,  if  this  can  be  shown,  we  shall  have  some- 
thing very  much  like  an  aurora  borealis,  I  must  con- 
fess." 

Dr.  Sinclair  had  now  produced  from  his  closet 
a  large  glass  tube  nearly  three  feet  long,  capped  at 
both  ends  with  brass.  At  the  top  there  was  a  brass 
knob  at  either  end  of  a  stem,  which  descended  into 
the  tube,  and  at  the  lower  end,  which  was  screwed  to 
a  wooden  stand,  there  were  three  brass  stems  termi- 
nating in  points  within  the  tube.  He  now  fastened  a 
brass  chain  to  the  prime  conductor  of  the  electrical 
machine,  and  connected  it  also  with  the  knob  at  the 
top  of  the  tube.  Then  he  caused  the  room  to  be 
darkened,  and  upon  working  the  machine,  flashes  of 
light  were  seen  to  play  about  the  glass  plate,  and 
to  dart  spitefully  from  the  links  of  the  chain,  while 
now  and  then  a  delicate  brush  of  purplish-tinted 
light  was  projected  from  the  knob  of  the  prime  con- 
ductor upon  the  near  approach  of  William  Sinclair's 
hand. 

"What  is  the  matter,  papa1?"  said  Alice,  "not  a 
ray  of  light  descends  the  tube.  Airs.  Marcet  must 
have  been  wrong  after  all." 

Harry  and  Herbert  looked  mystified,  but  the 
elder  people  looked  wise.  There  was  a  mystery 
somewhere. 

"  Have  we  fulfilled  all  the  terms  of  the  experiment 


208  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

according  to  the  description  of  Mrs.  Marcet,  Alice  ?" 
said  her  father. 

"  I  can  not  think  of  any  thing  that  has  been  omitted, 
papa." 

"  What  was  it  you  said  about  rarefied  air,  just 
now  ?" 

"  Oh  !  how  stupid  I  am,"  she  sa;d,  smiling.  "  You 
must  use  the  air-pump,  papa,  and  then,  I  think,  wo 
shall  see." 

"  Very  well,  my  daughter.  William  will  bring 
the  air-pump  from  the  laboratory,  and  with  the  aid 
of  it,  we  will  take  away  some  of  the  air  which  is  in 
the  tube." 

So  saying,  he  detached  the  tube,  turned  a  stop-cock 
at  the  bottom  of  it,  and  then  screwed  one  end  of  it 
into  the  plate  of  the  air-pump  and  re-connected  it 
with  the  machine.  William  now  worked  the  pump 
a  few  strokes,  and  Dr.  Sinclair  turned  the  machine  as 
before. 

"  Oh  !  how  beautiful !"  exclaimed  Alice ;  "  what 
lovely  tints  of  rose  and  purple !"  as  streams  of  the 
electric  fluid  now  ran  with  lightning  flashes  down  the 
long  tube,  making  all  manner  of  graceful  configura- 
tions in  their  descent.  At  some  moments,  the  whole 
tube  was  full  of  intense  blue  light,  which  quickly 
changed  to  crimson,  and  again  to  purple.  Then  for 
an  instant  it  would  cease  to  flow,  only  to  flash  with 
renewed  brilliancy,  and  this  continued  while  the 
machine  was  turned,  and  for  some  time  afterward. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  209 

"Admirable — admirable!"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 
"I  am  a  convert  to  the  electrical  theory.  I  shall 
vote  for  the  currency  bill.  If  I  could  only  imagine 
a  source  for  the  electricity  to  come  from,  I  should 
regard  your  opinion  as  absolutely  demonstrated,  Dr. 
Sinclair." 

"  Currents  of  electric  fluid  are  constantly  gen- 
erated by  the  equatorial  motion  of  the  earth,  and 
they  may  flow  periodically  to  the  poles." 

"  I  see,  I  see,  and  I  shall  believe  in  your  theory 
until  a  better  one  displaces  it.  I  can  not  say  more, 
my  dear  sir,  in  this  age  of  new  theories  and  shifting 
philosophies." 

"  No,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  smiling ;  "  I  shall  change 
my  own  opinion,  I  assure  you,  when  I  can  get  a  more 
rational  one." 

"  Electrical  science  is  yet  in  its  childhood,"  said 
William  Sinclair.  "  Its  expounders  are  observing 
facts  rather  than  demonstrating  laws." 

"  It  is  a  splendid  science,  truly,"  said  Mr.  Old- 
buckle.  "  I  almost  wish  I  was  a  youth  again,  that  I 
might  hope  to  keep  pace  with  its  extraordinary 
development. 

"  Come,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "let  us  now  close  this 
pleasant  evening  with  our  wonted  acknowledgments 
to  the  Author  of  all  science." 

"  Nothing,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "is  more  fitting, 
and  nothing  could  give  me  more  pleasure  than  to  join 
with  you  in  worshipping  Him  whose  glory  ia 


210 


HARRY'S  VACATION. 


declared  in  the  heavens,  and  with  whom  is  '  terrible 
majesty.' " 

Dr.  Sinclair  read  the  thirty-eighth  chapter  of  Job ; 
the  whole  family  united   in  singing  the   beautiful 

hymn, 

"  I  sing  the  mighty  power  of  God/' 
That  made  the  mountains  rise, 
That  spread  the  flowing  seas  abroad, 
And  built  the  lofty  skies!"  etc., 

and  then  Dr.  Sinclair  offered  fervent  thanksgiving 
and  prayer  to  God. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

A  Gift  for  Alice — Narrow  Escape  of  the  JEronaut — The  Fugitive 
Bubble — Making  a  Noise  in  the  World — A  Wonderful  Change — 
Water  at  Fires — Illuminating  Gas — Elements — Carbon. 

ABOUT  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  succeeding 
the  day  upon  which  the  balloon  had  been  sent 
up,  Mr.  Oldbuckle  again  made  his  appearance  at 
Beechwood.  Alice  was  the  first  to  greet  him,  for 
she  cherished  a  warm  affection  for  him  in  return  for 
the  especial  interest  which  he  always  manifested  for 
her.  Seldom,  indeed,  did  he  come  without  bringing 
to  her  some  token  of  his  kind  remembrance,  such  as 
a  book  or  a  flower.  Upon  this  occasion  he  was 
accompanied  by  a  waiting  lad,  who  bore  in  his  hands 
a  beautiful  cage,  containing  a  Canary  bird — one  of  the 
most  golden-hued,  fairy-crested  little  sprites  of  the 
vocal  tribe  which  Alice  had  ever  beheld. 

The  cage  was  scarcely  placed  upon  the  table  of  the 
sitting  room,  and  all  the  family  summoned  to  behold 
it,  when  the  little  songster  poured  out  his  greetings 
to  his  new  home  in  such  a  burst  of  song,  as  fairly 
created  a  furore  of  delight,  such  as  the  most  success- 
ful debutante  of  a  concert-room  might  envy. 

Alice  looked  her  thanks  to  her  kind  friend,  who 
said  in  his  usual  playful  manner, 


212  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  You  arc  my  bird,  you  know,  Alice,  and  that  is 
your  bird.  Now,  I  will  venture  to  say  that  you  do 
not  think  half  so  much  of  your  prize,  as  1  do  of 
mine." 

"Oh!  Mr.  Oldbuckle!"  said  the  excited  and 
delighted  girl,  "  you  are,  indeed,  too  kind  to  me 
entirely." 

"  Nonsense — nonsense,"  said  he,  "  this  is  your  just 
reward  for  your  discriminating  verdict  the  other  day 
upon  my  hereditary  foe,  Napoleon,"  and  he  turned 
the  conversation  at  once  upon  the  sport  of  the 
previous  day,  by  saying, 

"  What  do  you  think,  Harry  1  our  little  aeronaut 
narrowly  escaped  with  a  whole  neck  yesterday." 

"  How  was  that,  Mr.  Oldbuckle?"  said  a  chorus  of 
voices. 

"  Why,  James  Kenton,  my  gardener,  told  me  that 
as  he  was  passing  on  the  other  side  of  your  beech- 
grove  he  saw  the  balloon  just  above  the  trees,  and 
taking  it  for  a  large  bird,  was  about  to  shoot  at  it, 
when  suddenly  it  began  to  descend,  and  got  out  of  his 
sight." 

"What  a  narrow  escape!"  said  William,  "sup 
posing  always  that  he  could  have  hit  it !" 

"  I  am  glad  he  did  not  shoot,  at  all  events,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair,  "for  I  did  not  want  the  balloon  injured. 
But  come,"  he  added,  "let  us  go  into  the  library 
while  day -light  lasts,  and  see  if  we  can  find  any  thing 
to  amuse  and  instruct  us  there." 


"It  quite  escaped  him,  although  he  rose  on  tip-toe"— p.  213. 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  213 

"  Did  you  not  say  yesterday,  papa,  that  hydrogen 
gas  is  inflammable  T'  asked  Harry. 

"  I  did,  my  boy,  and  I  will  show  you  a  beautiful 
experiment  to  prove  it,  if  you  will  light  a  wax  taper 
3T  a  candle." 

The  candle  was  speedily  brought,  and  William  Sin- 
clair went,  with  his  father,  down  into  the  laboratory, 
to  obtain  a  fresh  supply  of  hydrogen  gas.  Having 
filled  the  India-rubber  bag  as  before,  they  returned, 
and  Dr.  Sinclair  fixed  the  bubble-pipe  and  plunged  it 
into  the  fresh  soap-suds,  which  Harry  had  volunteered 
to  prepare. 

In  a  moment,  a  bubble  escaped  from  the  pipe  and 
rose  rapidly  into  the  air.  Mr.  Oldbuckle  pursued  it  with 
the  lighted  candle,  but  so  swift  was  its  ascent,  that  it 
quite  escaped  him,  although  he  rose  on  tip-toe,  and 
extended  his  arm  above  his  head  as  far  as  he  could 
possibly  reach.  There  was  the  provoking  little 
sphere  just  beyond  him,  and  the  whole  company 
could  not  restrain  a  merry  laugh  at  the  expense  of 
the  kind-hearted  old  gentleman,  who,  when  he  had 
given  up  the  chase  as  hopeless,  joined  heartily  in  their 
chorus. 

"  I  will  be  up  with  the  next  one,  see  if  I  am  not," 
he  said. 

He  was  as  good  as  his  word,  and  the  beautiful 
bubble,  the  moment  it  came  in  contact  with  the 
burning  wick,  took  fire,  and  vanished  in  a  crest  of 
pale  yellow  flame.  The  young  people  were  exceed- 


214  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OB, 

ingly  delighted  at  the  result,  and  Fanny  eagerly/ 
exclaimed, 

"  Blow  a  very  large  one,  papa,  and  make  a  Dig 
flame." 

"  Yes,"  said  Harry,  "  I  agree  with  Fan ;  one  as 
big  as  her  head,  papa." 

"  You  forget,  Harry,"  said  his  sister,  "  that  the 
gas  is  so  very  light,  that  the  bubbles  won't  get  large 
before  they  rise  of  themselves." 

"  True,"  said  her  father,  "I  am  glad  to  see  that  you 
observe  so  well,  my  daughter.  Just  as  soon  as  the 
bubble  is  large  enough  to  weigh  less,  film  and  all, 
than  the  surrounding  air,  away  it  goes,  like  the  bal- 
loon with  its  mooring  rope  cut." 

"  How  very  quietly  the  bubbles  burn !"  said  Her- 
bert. 

"  Quietly,  eh,  Master  Russel  ?"  said  William  Sin- 
clair ;  "  let  me  see  if  I  can't  stir  them  up  a  bit,  so 
that  they  will  manage  to  make  a  little  more  noise  in 
the  world." 

"  That  is  the  way  !"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  laughing. 
"  There's  nothing  like  stirring  people  up  to  bring  out 
what  is  in  them !" 

"  May  I  appropriate  the  rest  of  this  gas,  sir  1"  said 
William,  addressing  his  father. 

u  It  is  quite  at  your  service,  my  son." 

William  took  the  bag,  and  measuring  with  his  e}Te 
the  bulk  of  the  gas  it  contained,  he  took  off  the  pipe, 
and  opening  the  stop-cock,  inhaled  fresh  air  into  his 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  215 

lungs,  and  then  blew  into  the  bag,  until  he  had  about 
doubled  the  quantity  of  its  contents. 

"  Oh !  brother  Willie,"  said  Harry,  "  take  care 
you  don't  go  up  like  a  balloon  !" 

"  Touch  him  off,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  approaching 
the  lighted  candle,  very  much  to  the  amusement  of 
all  but  Fanny,  who  was  somewhat  frightened  at  the 
idea. 

William  Sinclair  again  attached  the  pipe,  and  having 
blown  another  bubble,  of  somewhat  larger  size  thap 
the  previous  ones,  he  detached  it  from  the  pipe,  and  it 
floated  gently  upon  the  air,  without  rising. 

"  See,"  said  Herbert,  "  it  does  not  go  up  like  the 
others." 

"No,  and  it  won't  burn,  either,  I  know,"  said 
Harry.  "  William  spoiled  the  fun  by  breathing  into 
the  bag." 

Before  he  had  done  speaking,  Mr.  Oldbuckle  had 
touched  the  bubble  with  the  lighted  candle,  and  it 
exploded  with  a  report  like  that  of  a  small  pistol,  at 
which  the  young  people  all  started  with  evident  sur- 
prise. 

"  There,  Master  Harry,  it  wouldn't  burn,  eh  1"  said 
his  brother,  meanwhile  raising  in  the  soap-bowl  a 
huge  mass  of  minute  bubbles  into  the  shape  of  a  glit- 
tering crown.  In  an  instant,  he  took  the  candle  from 
Mr.  Oldbuckle's  hand,  and  applying  it  to  the  spark- 
ling mass,  it  went  off  with  a  tremendous  report, 
which  brought  Jacob  Fletcher  in  haste  to  the  scene  of 


216  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

operations,  and  sent  Fanny,  in  alarm,  to  her  mamma's 
side. 

"  You  stirred  them  up  effectually,  I  must  say,  Wil- 
liam," said  Mr.  Oldbuckle ;  "  and  Harry  will  confess, 
I  think,  that  you  didn't  spoil  them,  as  he  alleged  you 
would,  by  blowing  into  the  bag." 

"  I  don't  know,  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  that  I  shall  confess 
it.  He  certainly  made  them  very  noisy,  and  I  have 
heard  it  said  that  boys  when  they  are  very  noisy 
are  spoiled.'11 

"  Very  good,  my  lad,  very  well  retorted." 

"  But,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  will  any  one  of  you  tell 
me  what  made  the  bubbles  explode  so  loudly,  after 
William  had  blown  into  the  bag  ?" 

"  The  air,  papa,  of  course,"  said  Harry. 

"  Very  true ;  and  how  did  the  air  produce  the 
effect  ?" 

Harry  was  silent.  He  had  made  a  bold  answer, 
and  exhausted  his  courage  with  his  knowledge.  But 
Alice  very  kindly  came  to  his  relief,  under  the 
guidance  of  Mrs.  Marcet,  as  usual. 

"  I  think,  papa,"  said  the  young  girl,  "  it  is  the 
oxygen  of  the  air  which  makes  the  difference.  It 
unites  with  the  hydrogen  and  forms  an  explosive 
gas." 

"  Precisely,  Alice;  you  have  not  studied  Mrs.  Mar- 
cet in  vain,  I  am  glad  to  see." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  my  bird  sings  to  some 
purpose ;"  and  he  drew  Alice  to  his  side,  smiling  on 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  217 

her  very  kindly.  "But  tell  us,1' he  added,  "what 
became  of  the  contents  of  the  bubble  when  it  burst 
with  so  loud  a  noise  ?" 

Alice  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  replied,  "  1 
think,  sir,  they  were  instantly  changed  into  a  drop  of 
Avater." 

"A  drop  of  water!"  said  Herbert,  half-ad  miringly 
and  half-incredulously,  "I  can  not  imagine  such  a 
thing !" 

"It  is  true,  nevertheless,  Master  Herbert,"  said 
Dr.  Sinclair,  "  and  this  brings  us  back  to  what  I  told 
you  a  little  while  since — that  every  drop  of  water  is 
composed  of  these  two  gases,  which  occupy  a  space 
much  larger  than  the  drop  itself." 

"It  puzzles  me  very  much,"  said  Herbert,  half- 
musingly. 

"What  puzzles  you,  my  boy?"  asked  Mr.  Old- 
buckle. 

"  How  it  is,"  said  Herbert,  blushing  deeply,  "  that 
water  should  be  converted  into  fire." 

"  I  am  delighted  to  hear  you  speak  out  your  mind, 
Herbert,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair.  "That  is  the  way  to 
learn  new  truths  and  to  conquer  difficulties.  The 
problem  you  stumble  at,  is  one  of  the  phenomena  of 
nature." 

"Funny — what,  papa?"  said  inquisitive  little 
Fanny. 

"  Oh !  I  see  I  must  not  use  big  words  before  you, 
Fan,  unless  I  stop  to  explain  them.  It  is  one  of  the 


218  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

wonderful  tb'iigs,  then,  of  nature — and  these  are  called 
' phenomena .' " 

"  From  the  Greek  '  phaino,  to  show,'  "  whispered 
Herbert  to  Alice. 

"  An  eclipse  is  a  phenomenon,  so  is  a  water-spout, 
and  so  is  every  thing  which  is  not  of  common  occur- 
rence," continued  Dr.  Sinclair ;  "  does  my  little  girl 
understand  1" 

"  Comprenez-vous,  petite  fille?"  said  Alice,  laughing; 
for  Alice  was  now  in  her  early  French  lessons,  and 
like  most  beginners  was  proud  of  the  few  phrases  of 
which  she  was  mistress. 

Fanny  looked  blank  at  her  sister,  but  told  her 
papa  that  she  thought  she  understood  him. 

"Well,  then,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "let  me  try  to 
help  Herbert  out  of  his  difficulty.  Water,  in  its 
liquid  state,  is  the  opposite  of  fire,  as  we  all  know ; 
but  chemistry  can  convert  it  into  two  gases,  one  very 
inflammable,  and  the  other,  though  not  inflammable, 
a  great  supporter  of  combustion,  or  more  plainly 
speaking,  of  burning.  These  two  gases  are  combined 
hi  unvarying  proportions  in  water,  and  may  be  sepa- 
rated by  intense  heat.  When  water  is  converted 
into  steam,  the  two  gases  separate  readily,  if  there  be 
any  thing  present  with  which  the  oxygen  can  combine, 
as  red-hot  iron.  I  might  have  made  hydrogen  gas  by 
passing  steam  through  a  heated  gun-barrel,  which 
would  take  up  the  oxygen  and  set  the  hydrogen  at 
liberty." 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  219 

"  I  should  think  if  intense  heat  converts  water  into 
these  gases,  it  would  be  dangerous  to  throw  water 
upon  burning  buildings ;  and  yet  this  is  the  way  in 
which  fires  are  put  out,"  said  William  Sinclair,  whose 
philosophy  was  now,  perhaps  for  the  first  time,  a  lit- 
tle at  fault. 

"It  is  dangerous,  sometimes,  my  son,"  said  his 
father,  "  and  indeed,  generally,  a  little  water  is  worse 
than  none  at  all.  If  you  can  not  drown  the  flame 
altogether,  the  water  thrown  on  it  will  only  serve  as 
fuel ;  for,  converted  into  steam  by  the  great  heat,  the 
hydrogen  will  burn  furiously,  and  the  oxygen  being, 
as  I  have  said,  a  supporter  of  combustion,  will  help 
the  process." 

"I  have  often  seen,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "the 
flames  burst  out  with  great  violence,  when  water  has 
been  thrown  upon  a  smouldering  mass  of  fire ;  and 
this  was  owing,  doubtless,  to  the  liberation  of  the 
gases  in  the  water." 

"By  and  by,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "I  may  show 
you  some  experiments  with  this  curious  oxygen  gas 
which  we  have  been  talking  about.  Do  you  think  I 
can  burn  up  a  ten-penny  nail  as  fast  as  a  match  com- 
monly burns,  Herbert  ?" 

"I  should  think  not,  sir;  though,  if  you  can,  1  should 
like  to  see  it  done." 

''Well,"  replied  the  Doctor,  "remind  me  of  it 
some  day,  and  I  will  give  you  a  proof  of  my  skill  in 
that  line." 


220  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

"  Is  the  gas  with  which  the  streets  of  the  city  of 
New- York  are  lighted,  hydrogen  gas?"  inquired 
Herbert. 

"  No,  but  it  is  a  combination  of  hydrogen  with  a 
substance  called  carbon,  and  the  gas  itself  is  called 
carburetted  hydrogen.  Carbon  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  elements,  or  simple  substances  of  the  globe, 
because  no  evidence  has  yet  been  obtained  of  its 
compound  nature." 

"  But,  papa,"  said  Harry,  "  I  thought  there  were 
only  four  elements,  and  that  they  were — air,  water, 
earth,  and  fire." 

"  That  was  the  mistake  of  the  old  philosophers," 
replied  his  father.  "  Not  one  of  these  bodies  is  really 
an  element ;  they  are  all  composed  of  two  or  more 
substances,  M'hich  latter  are  accounted  really  elements. 
Instead  of  four,  there  have  been  discovered  more  than 
sixty  first  principles  in  matter,  of  which  about  fifty 
are  metals,  and  the  remainder  are  non-metallic ;  of 
these  are  hydrogen,  oxygen,  and  carbon.  The  latter 
is  found  in  the  form  of  coal,  from  which  substance 
much  of  the  city  gas  is  made,  by  burning  the  coal  in 
large  iron  retorts.  It  forms  also  a  great  part  of  resin, 
oil,  and  all  fatty  matter  which  is  employed  for  pro- 
ducing artificial  light.  The  lead  in  cedar  pencils  is 
almost  pure  carbon,  while  in  the  exquisite  foim  of 
the  diamond  we  find  this  element  absolutely  pure." 

The  conversation  was  now  interrupted  by  the  tea- 
bell,  and  Mr.  Oldbuckle  gratified  the  young  people 


PIIILOSOrilT   AT    HOME.  221 

by  remaining  with  them  at  the  pleasant  evening 
repast.  When  it  was  over,  he  departed  for  his  own 
home,  leaving  them  to  their  accustomed  Saturday 
night  duties,  in  preparation  for  the  next  day,  which 
was  spent  by  the  family  at  Beechwood  in  the  manner 
previously  related.  William  Sinclair,  however,  went 
over  hi  the  morning  to  accompany  his  friend  Edward 
Vivian  and  his  sister  to  church  in  the  village,  where 
pleasant  greetings  were  exchanged  between  them  and  ^ 
the  Beechwood  circle. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

The  Pond — Slating — A  Collision — Harry's  Mysterious  Depart 
ure — Sledding  on  me  Pond — An  Upset — Inertia— Dr.  Sinclair 
on  the  Ice — A  Surprise  at  Home — More  Sport  on  the  Ice — Tha 
Skating  Trio — A  Kotel  Sleigh-ride. 

it  /^OME,  Herbert,"  said  Harry,  as  they  arose 
\J  from  the  breakfast-table  on  Monday  morning, 
"we  must  have  some  sport  on  the  pond  to-day. 
Here  we  have  been  at  home  more  than  a  week,  and 
I  have  not  had  my  skates  on  yet ;  it  is  positively  too 
bad." 

Herbert  was  willing  enough,  and  especially  as 
Mrs.  Sinclair  told  Alice  that  she  and  her  sisters  might 
go  down  and  witness  the  amusement,  which  they 
were  much  inclined  to  do.  Alice  entreated  her  father 
to  accompany  them,  but  he  excused  himself  upon  the 
pica  of  business  of  immediate  importance. 

As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  young  people  had  taken 
care  of  their  pets  and  dependents,  and  protected 
themselves  thoroughly  against  the  cold,  which  was 
not  severe,  in  the  pleasant  brightness  of  the  sunshine, 
they  all  set  out  for  the  pond.  This  was  a  natural 
lakelet  of  more  than  a  mile  in  length,  and  of  a  varia- 
ble width,  reaching  in  the  centre  about  a  quarter  of  a 
tnile.  It  was  beautifully  situated — skirted  upon  one 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  223 

side  by  the  beech  forest,  which  stretched  beyond  the 
lull,  and  upon  the  opposite  shore  by  a  belt  of 
meadow-ground.  la  summer  it  was  a  favourite  haunt 
of  the  family.  A  boat  and  bathing-house,  over 
which  was  a  sitting-chamber,  had  been  erected  by 
Dr.  Sinclair,  at  the  western  end  of  the  pond. 

Very  different  was  the  winter  aspect  of  this  scene 
from  that  which  it  exhibited  in  the  radiant  summer- 
time. But  the  hearts  of  the  boys  exulted  in  the  wide 
expanse  of  ice  which  stretched  out  before  them,  and 
while  Alice  and  her  sisters  took  temporary  possession 
of  the  boat-house,  Harry  and  Herbert  buckled  on 
their  skates,  and  the  former  was  very  soon  gliding 
swiftly  over  the  ice.  Herbert  was  less  accustomed 
to  the  sport  than  his  school-fellow,  and  he  moved 
cautiously,  especially  fearing  to  catch  a  fall — not  so 
much  for  the  personal  discomfort  of  it,  as  for  the 
observation  of  Alice  and  Mary. 

He  soon  gathered  courage,  however,  and  followed 
Harry  in  his  rapid  flight.  The  ice  was  in  good  con- 
dition, the  wind  having  first  nearly  cleared  its  surface 
of  the  light  snow,  and  the  warmth  of  the  sun  melted 
that  which  remained.  Now  they  glided  hither  and 
thither,  and  once  they  started  upon  a  race  across  the 
pond,  in  which,  however,  Harry  gained  so  much  upon 
Herbert  that  he  generously  cut  it  short,  and  satisfied 
himself  by  describing  curves  and  figures  upon  the  ice, 
where  his  sisters  could  see  the  sport.  While  he  was 
thus  occupied,  it  happened  that  he  and  Herbert  came 


224  HARRY  S    VACATION  ;    OR, 

unexpectedly  into  collision,  and  the  result  was  that 
both  of  them  fell  backwards  with  an  uncomfortable 
force  upon  the  ice,  greatly  to  the  amusement  of 
the  group  who  stood  upon  the  margin  of  the  pond, 
and  made  no  attempt  to  restrain  their  merriment ; 
especially  as  the  boys  picked  themselves  up  with 
loud  bursts  of  laughter..  Harry  IIOAV  whispered  some- 
thing to  Herbert,  and  immediately  afterwards  took 
off  his  skates  and  started  eagerly  homeward,  leaving 
his  young  friend  to  explain  his  purpose  to  Alice  and 
her  sisters. 

"  He  is  gone,"  said  Herbert,  "to  fetch  the  sleds,  so 
that  we  may  give  you  all  a  good  ride  upon  the  ice." 

"  Oh !  that  will  be  charming,"  said  Alice ;  "  won't 
it,  Mary?" 

Mary  assented  with  a  quickened  colour  in  her  face, 
and  Fanny's  bright  eyes  danced  with  her  pleasurable 
emotion. 

"How  would  you  like  to  live  in  Holland,  Herbert1?" 
asked  Alice. 

"  Why  do  you  ask  me  that,  Alice  T'  he  replied. 

"  Because  there,  during  the  winter,  they  skate  more 
than  in  any  other  country,  we  are  told." 

"  I  did  not  know  that,"  was  Herbert's  ingenuous 
reply. 

"  The  canals  are  covered  with  people  upon  skates. 
The  women  skate  to  market  with  heavy  baskets 
upon  their  heads,  and  nearly  all  the  population  move 
,  about  in  this  way." 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  225 

"  I  think  1  should  like  to  live  in  Holland,  then," 
said  Herbert,  "  and  I  should  become  very  expert  in 
skating." 

"  It  requires  practice,  I  suppose,"  said  Alice. 

"  Indeed  it  does ;  it  was  some  time  before  I  could 
even  stand  up  on  my  skates,  and  I  got  many  a  fall, 
before  I  learned  to  move  upon  them." 

Harry  was  not  long  absent,  and  he  reappeared, 
drawing  after  him,  at  a  swift  pace,  the  two  sleds 
which  they  had  used  in  the  coasting  frolic.  Giving 
one  of  them  to  Herbert  and  again  buckling  on  his 
skates,  he  directed  Mary  to  seat  herself  upon  his 
sleigh,  and  to  take  her  younger  sister  in  her  lap. 
This  arrangement  left  Alice  to  Herbert,  who  was 
delighted  enough  when  she  said, 

"You  have  Hobson's  choice,  Herbert — in  me  or 
none." 

"  I  am  perfectly  satisfied,  Alice,  though  Harry  has 
taken  the  lion's  share." 

"  I  will  change  with  you,  Herbert,  if  you  please," 
said  Harry ;  but  without  waiting  for  the  answer,  he 
seized  the  rope  of  the  sled  and  started  off  so  suddenly 
that  both  Mary  and  Fanny  were  immediately  upset 
upon  the  ice,  and  a  very  amusing  screaming  and 
scrambling  ensued. 

"  So,  so,  Master  Harry,  you  are  giving  your  sisters 
a  practical  lesson  upon  inertia,  eh  ?"  said  Dr.  Sinclair, 
who  had  this  moment  arrived  at  the  edge  of  the 
pond,  quite  unperceived  by  any  of  the  group  there. 


220  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

"I  should  call  it  a  lesson  in  holding  on,  papa," 
said  Harry.     "  Mary  should  have  held  on." 

"  She  did  hold  on,  Harry,  and  that  was  the  reason 
Bhe  fell  off." 

"  Now,  papa,"  said  Alice,  "  that  is  a  paradox  which 
I  must  ask  you  to  explain." 

"  I  will  try  and  do  so  to  your  satisfaction,  my 
daughter.  Mary  and  Fanny  were  in  a  state  of  rest, 
together  with  the  sleigh,  when  Harry  so  rudely  dis- 
turbed that  state  by  his  sudden  start.  If  the  rope 
had  been  fastened  to  them,  as  well  as  to  the  sleigh, 
they  would  not  have  fallen  off;  but  they  held  on  to 
the  state  they  were  in,  and  the  sleigh,  alone  obeying 
the  impulse  of  Harry's  pull,  moved  from  beneath 
them.  This  is  what  philosophers  mean  by  the  inertia 
of  bodies.  If  Mary  and  Fanny  trust  their  brother 
after  this,  to  draw  them  upon  the  ice,  they  must  look 
out  both  for  his  starts  and  his  stops ;  for  if  he  were  to 
bring  up  his  sled  suddenly,  they  would  hold  on  to 
their  motion  and  continue  to  move,  if  they  did  not 
meet  with  opposition  from  the  ground,  or  rather, 
from  the  ice." 

"  Mary  and  Fanny,  and  indeed  Herbert  and  Alice, 
too,  ought  to  be  very  much  obliged  to  me  for  giving 
papa  an  opportunity  to  teach  us  the  philosophy  of 
tumbling  off  a  sled,"  said  Harry,  with  a  laugh,  in 
which  all  the  rest  joined. 

"  It  is  a  useful  lesson,  Master  Magpie,"  said  his 
father,  "  and  I  recollect  ancther  occasion  when  you 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  227 

afforded  us  the  opportunity  of  learning  it,  though  I 
did  not  express  the  philosophy  of  it  at  that  time." 

"  When  was  that,  papa  ?"  asked  Alice. 

"  Surely  you  remember  to  what  I  allude,  Alice  1" 

"  Oh !  yes,  I'm  sure  I  do,  papa.  You  mean  the 
time  when  Harry  tumbled  out  of  the  boat  into  the 
pond.  He  was  standing  up  in  the  boat,  Herbert,  just 
as  it  came  to  the  steps,  and  it  struck  so  hard  against 
them,  that  he  was  plunged  head  first  into  the  water." 

"That  lesson  was  at  his  own  expense,"  said  his 
father,  "but  this  time  he  made  his  sisters  pay  for  it." 

"  Mine  cost  the  most,  any  how,"  said  Harry, 
"  though  I  did  not  mind  it  at  all." 

"  After  the  fright  was  over,  you  mean,  my  boy,  for 
you  made  a  terrible  ado  when  it  happened." 

The  laugh  was  decidedly  against  Harry,  and  he 
bore  it  with  the  grace  of  a  generous  boy.  He  now 
persuaded  Mary  and  Alice  to  try  again,  and  they 
showed  no  reluctance,  notwithstanding  their  first  fall. 
The  sleds  were  freighted  with  their  burdens,  and  a 
safe  start  was  made.  The  boys  exerted  themselves 
bravely,  and  the  light  vehicles  fairly  flew  over  the 
smooth  surface  of  the  pond.  Dr.  Sinclair  was  soon 
behind  them  also  upon  skates,  and  he  afforded  the 
young  people  much  amusement  by  his  superior  skill 
in  the  art.  He  would  rush  past  them  with  the  speed 
of  the  wind,  and  suddenly  doubling  on  his  track, 
describe  a  path  completely  around  them.  Bidding 
Herbert  throw  the  rope  to  Alice,  he  laid  his  hand 


2*28  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  on, 

lightly  upon  her  shoulders,  and  while  the  sled  still 
glided  along  with  its  previous  impulse,  he  urged  it 
forward  with  increased  speed,  and  left  Harry  and  his 
sleigh  far  behind. 

Then  rejoining  the  group,  he  resigned  Alice  again 
to  the  care  of  their  young  guest,  and  proposed  to 
Fanny  to  exchange  her  seat  in  Mary's  lap  for  his 
arms.  To  this  proposal  the  little  girl  joyfully  con- 
sented, and  her  papa,  apparently  quite  unconscious  of 
his  assumed  burden,  glided  away  again  while  she 
clnng  to  his  neck  with  one  arm  and  waved  the  other, 
over  his  shoulder,  to  the  party  they  were  leaving 
behind. 

It  was  a  morning  of  rare  enjoyment  to  all,  and  not 
one  of  them  failed  to  express  regret  that  Mr.  Old- 
buckle  and  William  were  not  there  to  share  in  it. 
The  latter  had  returned  to  Viviandale  after  the  morn- 
ing service  of  the  previous  day,  and  had  found  so 
much  to  interest  him  either  in  Edward  or  in  Ger- 
trude— no  matter  which — that  he  had  not  yet  arrived 
at  home  when  the  young  people  started  for  the  pond. 

When  they  reached  the  Hall,  however,  about  the 
dinner  hour,  they  were  exceedingly  delighted  to  find, 
in  the  library,  not  only  their  truant  brother,  but  both 
the  objects  of  his  attraction  to  Viviandale,  whose 
presence  saved  him  a  little  scolding,  perhaps,  from 
Alice's  lips,  and  a  gleam  of  reproach  from  the  sweet 
soft  eyes  of  his  darling  sister  Mary.  As  it  was,  he 
was  greeted  with  cordial,  if  not  clamorous  delight, 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  229 

rtnd  Edward  and  Gertrude  Vivian  had  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  they  had  come  where  a  welcome  awaited 
them. 

"  Oh  !  brother  Willie,"  said  Alice  after  the  saluta- 
tions had  ceased,  "  we  did  miss  you  so  much  upon  the 
pond." 

"  We  would  all  have  come  down  and  joined  you 
there,"  was  his  reply,  "  but  your  mamma  was  quite 
inexorable  in  her  plea  that  there  was  not  time  before 
dinner." 

"  Well  then,"  said  Harry,  "  let  us  make  a  day  of 
it,  by  going  back  after  dinner.  Don't  you  vote  yes, 
Herbert  ?" 

Herbert  certainly  voted  yes,  and  so  did  Gertrude 
Vivian,  with  so  much  earnestness  in  her  declaration 
that  she  enjoyed  sports  on  the  ice  with  a  keen  delight, 
that  it  was  immediately  agreed  to  pass  the  rest  of  the 
day  at  the  pond. 

Dinner  was  no  sooner  over,  than  all  were  busy  in 
putting  on  their  wrappers.  Dr.  Sinclair  left  a  note  to 
be  handed  to  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  in  case  he  arrived  at 
the  Hall,  inviting  him  to  come  down  to  the  scene  of 
amusement.  William  Sinclair  informed  the  ladies 
that  to  him  was  delegated  the  honour  of  driving 
them  in  the  cutter  to  the  pond. 

"  Why,  surely,  brother  Willie,  you  don't  intend 
that  we  shall  ride  that  little  way,  do  you1?"  said 
Alice. 

"  No    Alice,  don't  you   hear  that  he  intends  to 


230  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

'  drive '  u  3.  I  hope  he  won't  use  the  whip  very  frc  ily," 
said  Gertrude  Vivian,  playfully. 

"  Pardon  me,  Miss  Gertrude,"  said  William  Sin- 
clair,  "  but  how  shall  I  better  express  my  intention  of 
being  your  coachman — " 

"  Sleigh-man"  suggested  Edward  Vivian. 

"  Than  by  the  words  I  used?"  he  continued,  smiling 
at  the  parenthesis  of  his  friend. 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  she  replied  archly,  "  but 
one  thing  is  certain,  ladies  don't  like  to  be  driven." 

"  I  am  at  a  loss  for  a  happy  substitute  for  the 
obnoxious  word,  unless  I  say,  escort  or  conduct  you," 
was  the  rejoinder. 

"  Either  of  the  latter  you  may  do,"  she  said,  with 
a  heightening  flush  upon  her  cheek,  and  amid  this 
badinage  the  ladies  all  stepped  into  the  light  cutter, 
in  which  the  party  from  Viviandale  had  arrived. 
When  they  reached  the  pond,  the  horse  was  taken 
out,  tied  to  a  post,  and  a  warm  blanket  thrown  over 
him.  Harry  and  Herbert  insisted  upon  resigning 
their  skates  to  William  Sinclair  and  Edward  Vivian, 
who  were  both  well  skilled  in  their  use,  and  quite 
equalled,  if  they  did  not  surpass,  the  morning  per- 
formances  of  Dr.  Sinclair,  which  had  elicited  the 
admiration  of  our  young  friends.  It  was  a  noble 
and  exhilarating  sight,  as  Gertrude  Vivian  justly 
remarked  to  Mrs.  Sinclair,  to  see  the  three  gentle- 
men striving  in  a  race  the  whole  length  of  the  pond, 
their  figures  first  receding  swiftly  into  the  distance, 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  23] 

and  then  returning  like  a  flight  of  arrows,  while  the 
sound  of  the  steel  upon  the  clear  ice  bore  some 
resemblance  to  the  rushing  of  the  wind. 

Harry  and  Herbert  had  brought  their  sleds  with 
them,  and  Mary  and  Fanny  readily  consented  to  let 
them  run  with  them  on  the  ice,  which  they  could  do 
without  peril,  in  their  India-rubber  boots.  But  the 
young  men  had  nobler  sport  than  this  in  view,  and 
just  as  the  boys  were  about  to  put  their  plan  into 
execution,  Dr.  Sinclair  called  to  them  to  bring  the 
cutter  upon  the  pond. 

Alice  divined  at  once  the  reason  why  they  rode 
instead  of  walked  to  the  pond,  and  indeed  none  were 
so  dull  as  not  to  discover  it. 

Fanny  clapped  her  hands  with  great  glee,  and 
exclaimed,  "  A  ride !  a  ride,  and  skaters  for  ponies  !" 
The  boys  launched  the  cutter  with  great  alacrity, 
and  if  it  did  not  glide  gracefully  into  the  water,  as 
another  kind  of  cutter  might  have  done  upon  the  same 
pond,  in  the  summer  time,  it  certainly  did  move  with 
great  ease  upon  the  icy  bosom  of  the  lakelet. 

The  ladies  needed  no  urging  to  enter  the  sleigh, 
and  when  they  were  all  comfortably  seated,  Dr.  Sin- 
clair placed  himself  between  the  light  shafts,  while 
William  Sinclair  and  Edward  Vivian  stood  each  in 
advance  of  him  upon  the  outside,  and  laid  one  hand 
upon  the  shaft  nearest  to  him. 

Harry  and  Herbert  elected  themselves  footmen 
extraordinary  to  this  novel  cortege,  which  now  started 


232  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

and  soon  attained  such  a  surprising  speed,  that  the 
boys  were  compelled  to  relinquish  their  feet  and 
cling  to  the  back  part  of  the  cutter.  It  required  less 
than  five  minutes  to  traverse  the  extreme  length  of 
the  pond,  and  all  the  fair  riders  declared  that  never 
before  had  they  enjoyed  so  exciting  and  charming  an 
adventure  in  a  sleigh.  The  return  flight  was  even 
more  rapid,  for  the  skaters  were  inspired  by  the 
unstinted  praises  bestowed  upon  them.  Merrily 
rang  the  laughter  and  the  light  shouts  of  the  happy 
revellers  upon  the  still,  cold  air ;  and  the  first  shadows 
of  the  brief  winter  twilight  fell,  before  they  left  the 
scene  of  their  innocent  and  inspiriting  frolic. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

Better  Late  than  Never — Christmas  Gifts — Their  Distribution- 
Fanny's  White  Swans  —  The  Magic  Wand  —  Feeding  the 
Swans — Fanny's  Wonder — Magnetism — The  Mariner's  Coin- 
pass 

MR.  OLDBUCKLE  did  not  arrive  during  the 
absence  of  the  family,  but  before  the  twilight 
had  quite  deepened  into  night,  the  jingling  of  sleigh- 
bells  was  heard,  and  the  young  people  bounded  out 
of  the  library,  quite  sure  of  having  to  bid  him  wel- 
come. Nor  were  they  disappointed.  It  was  he,  and 
he  bore  in  his  hands  a  light  box,  which  he  handed  to 
Harry,  saying, 

"  There,  Harry,  '  Better  late  than  never,'  you 
know.  That  box  contains  some  philosophical  gifts 
which  I  hoped  to  have  received  in  season  for  Christ- 
mas, but  it  has  only  just  reached  me.  I  appoint  you 
my  almoner.  Open  the  box  carefully,  and  see  what 
there  is  for  each  one  of  you." 

"  Bring  it  into  the  library,  my  boy,"  said  Dr.  Sin- 
clair, who  had  also  come  out  to  bid  his  friend  wel- 
come ;  and  he  added,  addressing  him, 

"  Your  kindness  to  my  children,  my  dear  sir,  lays 
me  under  many  though,  i  am  happy  to  add,  not  irk 
some  obligations." 


234  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

*'  Do  not  speak  of  it,  I  beg  of  you,"  was  the  reply 
"  It  is  I  who  am  laid  under  obligations.  Your  happy 
young  people  are  helping  me  to  live  over  again  days 
of  pure  and  healthful  pleasure  which  I  thought  for 
ever  gone  by." 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  was  glad  to  meet  again  the  young 
people  from  Viviandale,  and  they  rejoiced  in  his 
arrival. 

Harry,  under  his  father's  direction,  speedily  and 
safely  removed  the  contents  of  the  box,  and  distribu- 
ted them  according  to  the  direction  upon  the  parcels. 
There  was  one  for  each  of  the  young  philosophers — 
not  excepting  Herbert  Russel — whose  eyes  certainly 
grew  somewhat  moist  with  the  pleasure  he  felt  at 
this  token  of  regard,  which  was  quite  unexpected. 
The  gift  for  Alice  was  first  examined,  and  it  excited 
not  a  little  wonder  by  its  appearance,  which  was 
utterly  strange  to  nearly  all  the  party.  It  consisted 
of  a  mahogany  frame  containing  an  oblong  piece  of 
glass,  upon  which  were  fixed  irregular  rows  of  little 
discs  of  tinfoil,  some  upon  one  side  and  some  upon 
the  other,  while  strips  of  the  same  substance  were 
fixed  in  various  positions. 

Alice  did  not  comprehend  the  nature  of  the  gift, 
but  this  did  not,  in  the  least,  diminish  the  warmth 
of  her  acknowledgments  to  her  kind  friend,  who 
simply  whispered  to  her, 

"  Your  good  papa  will  make  it  all  clear  to  you,  by 
ar.d  by,  my  bird." 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  235 

Mary's  gift  was  a  tall  glass  jar,  accompanied  by  a 
little  box,  which  contained  a  fairy-like  balloon  and 
car  all  of  glass  of  various  colours. 

"  Your  brother  William  will  doubtless  make  the 
gift  complete  for  you,  Mary,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle, 
as  she  thanked  him,  with  few  words  but  with  elo- 
quent looks. 

"  That  I  will,  presently,"  said  her  brother  ;  "  but 
/  am  curious  to  see  the  rest  of  these  scientific  sou- 
venirs. What  have  you  got  there,  Fanny  ?" 

"  Oh !  see,"  exclaimed  the  delighted  little  girl. 
"  two  beautiful  white  swans  and  a — " 

*'  A  magic  wand  to  feed  them  with  when  they  are 
good,  and  to  drive  them  away  with  when  they  are 
naughty,"  said  her  papa. 

"  How  can  that  be  ?"  said  Fanny,  with  wonder  in 
her  eyes. 

"  We  shall  see,  by  and  by ;  but  you  have  not 
thanked  Mr.  Oldbuckle  for  these  beautiful  new  pets." 

"  Dear  Mr.  O'buckle,  I  thank  you  very  much," 
and  she  proffered  her  sweet  lips  for  a  kiss,  which  no 
one,  much  less  a  warm-hearted  old  friend,  could  have 
refused. 

"  And  now  for  your  present,  Herbert,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair. 

"  Mine,  sir,  is  a  microscope,  and  I  can  not  thank 
Mr.  Oldbuckle,  as  I  should  for  his  goodness." 

"Your  pleasure  in  receiving  it,  my  dear  young 
friend,  is  all  the  thanks  I  want.  I  thought  it  would 


236 


HARRY  S    VACATION  I    OR, 


remind  you  of  Beeehwood  as  well  as  of  me.  aftei 
your  return  home." 

"  That  it  will,  sir,  and  it  will  delight  my  dear  papa 
very  much." 

Harry's  gift  was  a  singular-looking  contrivance, 
consisting  of  a  pane  of  glass  set  in  a  neat  mahogany 
frame,  with  a  handle  attached,  and  with  a  square  of 
tin  foil  pasted  upon  both  sides  of  the  glass.  He 
looked  at  it  with  bewilderment  in  his  countenance, 
and  then  he  looked  from  one  to  another  of  the  group 
which  surrounded  him,  but  most  of  their  counte- 
nances appeared  as  blank  as  his  own.  As  Mr. 
Oldbuckle  did  not  give  it  any  name,  Harry  forebore 
to  ask  him  what  it  was,  but  concluded  his  curious 
but  unsatisfactory  inspection  of  both  its  sides,  by 
exclaiming — 

"  Well,  I  declare,  I  can  make  neither  head  nor  tail 
of  it!" 

Harry  had  forgotten  his  duty,  in  his  perplexity, 
but  he  speedily  remembered  it,  and  added  his  thanks 
to  those  already  lavished  upon  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  who 
declared  that  he  thought  so  much  pleasure,  and  so 
much  appreciation,  would  be  cheaply  purchased  at 
ten  times  the  cost  of  his  gifts. 

"  We  can  not  make  a  better  use  of  this  evening, 
perhaps,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  than  by  explaining  to  the 
young  people  the  nature  and  uses  of  these  beautiful 
gifts — at  least,  of  those  which  are  riot  already  fa- 
miliar to  them." 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  237 

There  was  evident  approval  of  this  proposition  in 
every  face,  and  the  Doctor  continued  : 

"As  for  you,  Fanny,  you  ought  to  provide  a  pond 
for  your  swans  to  float  about  in ;  and  they  must  cer- 
tainly want  to  be  fed  after  being  kept  so  long  without 
food." 

"Now,  papa,  you  are  making  fun  of  me,  I  know; 
the  swans  can't  eat,  even  though  they  can  swim," 
said  the  little  girl. 

"  I  will  venture  to  say,  Fan,  that  if  you  offer  them 
some  bread,  they  will  swim  up  to  you  immediately, 
and  take  it !" 

Fanny's  eyes  dilated  with  wonder,  but  she  shook 
her  curly  little  head  with  incredulity.  Meanwhile, 
however,  William  Sinclair  had  placed  a  glass  basin 
full  of  water  upon  the  table,  and  into  it  he  put  the 
swans,  which  sat  gracefully  upon  the  water,  and 
certainly  looked  as  natural  as  life. 

"  Here,  Fanny,"  said  her  father,  "  here  is  a  piece 
of  bread  upon  the  end  of  this  wand ;  call  them,  and 
see  if  they  won't  come  and  take  it." 

"  Yes,  call  them,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle ;  "  they  are 
named  '  White-wing,'  and  '  Bright-eye.' " 

Fanny  looked  puzzled,  but  as  all  were  waiting  in 
silence,  she  ventured  timidly  to  call — 

"Brighteye!" 

"  Offer  him  the  bread,  Fanny,"  said  her  brother. 

She  extended  the  bread  towards  the  swan  which 

was  nearest  to  her,  and  to  her  utter  amazement,  it 
11 


238  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

immediately  began  to  move  towards  her  and  actually 
buried  its  beak  in  the  crumb  which  she  presented  to 
it.  This  was  entirely  a  novel  experiment  to  the  little 
girl,  and  she  eagerly  offered  the  bread  to  the  other, 
cailing,  at  the  same  time — 

"White-wing!  White-wing!  will  you  have  some 
supper  ?" 

White-wing  was  as  ready  as  Brighkeye  to  be 
fed,  and  Fanny  was  almost  wild  with  delight  at  her 
swans. 

"  Send  them  away,  Fanny,"  said  her  father,  as  they 
both  plunged  their  beaks  into  the  bread. 

"  Go  'way,  swans,"  said  Fanny,  but  they  did  not 
heed  her. 

"  Offer  them  the  other  end  of  the  rod,  and  they 
will  be  offended  and  go  away  at  once,"  said  Mr.  Old- 
buckle. 

Fanny  said  nothing,  but  her  look  was  expressive 
of  doubt.  Still,  she  tried  the  experiment,  and  the 
moment  she  put  the  other  end  of  the  wand  towards 
them,  they  both  turned  proudly  away.  The  child's 
admiration  was  unbounded,  and  her  enthusiasm  cre- 
ated pleasure  for  all  around  her,  although  they  knew 
the  simple  secret  of  these  curious  motions.  It  is  not 
well,  perhaps,  to  say  that  all  of  them  knew  this  secret; 
all  of  them,  except  Fanny,  had  before  seen  similar 
toys,  and  knew  that  the  rod  was  a  magnet;  but 
beyond  this,  neither  Mary  nor  Harry  had  any  defi 
nite  idea  of  magnetism.  Herbert  had  been  more 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  239 

fully  enlightened  at  home  upon  this  very  subject,  and 
of  course,  Mrs.  Marcet  had  not  left  Alice  in  ignorance 
concerning  it. 

"  Well,  Harry,"  said  his  father,  "  you  look  wise ; 
tell  Fanny  why  the  swans  wanted  the  bread  which 
they  could  not  eat,  after  all." 

"  They  didn't  want  the  bread,  sir — see,  they  will 
come  just  as  well  without  it,  if  the  rod  is  held  out  to 
them !" 

"  Well,  that  seems  to  be  true.  What  brings  them 
to  the  rod,  then  ?" 

"It's  a  magnet,  sir,  and  that  draws  them." 

"  We  saw  as  much  as  that,"  said  his  father,  laugh- 
ing  at  Harry's  rather  equivocal  reply.  "  What  is  a 
magnet,  Harry?" 

"A  rod  that  will  draw  swans  and  fishes  in  the  water, 
I  suppose,  sir,"  was  the  hasty  reply. 

"  Ah !  my  boy,  you're  a  candidate  for  information, 
I  see,  as  well  as  my  little  Fanny  and  my  gentle 
Mary.  Come,  Alice,  give  us  a  few  words  from  Mrs. 
Marcet." 

"  A  magnet,  sir,  is  a  piece  of  iron  or  steel  which 
possesses  the  power  of  attracting  other  iron  or  steel," 
replied  Alice. 

"  So  far,  so  good ;  but  what  do  you  say  of  the 
singular  effect  produced  upon  White-wing  and  Bright- 
eye  just  now  by  the  unbaited  end  of  the  rod  1" 

"I  should  have  added,"  was  her  ready  reply,  "and 
of  both  attracting  and  repelling  another  magnet." 


240  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR. 

"  That  sounds  like  it,  my  daughter.  Now,  Fanny, 
you  must  know  that  each  of  your  little  swans  has  a 
magnet  in  its  mouth,  and  that  the  rod  is  also  a 
magnet.  Perhaps  you  may  not  be  able  quite  to 
understand  me,  but  the  power  \vhich  dwells  in  a 
magnet,  and  which  is  of  the  same  kind  as  that  which 
spits  at  you  in  the  electrical  machine,  is  different  at 
the  two  ends  of  each  magnet.  When  two  magnets 
are  brought  together,  the  ends  which  contain  different 
powers  unite,  but  the  ends  which  contain  the  same 
sort  of  power  separate  from  each  other.  Now  the 
rod  contains,  at  the  point,  a  different  magnetic  power 
from  that  in  the  swan's  mouth,  so  they  are  drawn 
together ;  while  the  other  end  of  the  rod  contains  the 
same  sort  of  magnetism  as  that  in  the  swan's  beak, 
and  they  separate  from  each  other.  Look  at  this  rod 
as  I  float  it  in  the  water  upon  a  flat  cork.  It  moves 
toward  the  swan  almost  as  fast  as  the  swan  moves 
towards  it.  If  I  turn  the  rod  round,  see  how  they 
both  move  away  from  each  other." 

Even  Fanny  understood  this  simple  explanation, 
at  least  so  far  as  to  have  a  clear  idea  that  there  was 
a  fixed  cause  for  the  strange  motions  of  the  swans , 
and  she  no  longer  thought  that  they  came  after  the 
bread,  or  were  angry  when  she  turned  the  bread 
away.  Dr.  Sinclair  took  this  occasion  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  young  people  to  the  magnetic  needle, 
placing  one  upon  the  table  before  them.  He  also 
removed  the  swans  from  the  basin,  and  leaving  the 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  24  I 

rod  upon  the  cork,  pointed  out  to  them  tl  -e  fact  that  it 
lay  in  the  same  direction  with  the  needle  upon  its  pivot. 

"  Who  invented  the  mariner's  compass,  sir  1" 
inquired  Herbert  of  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  That  is  a  matter  of  profound  mystery,  I  believe," 
he  replied.  "  It  was  certainly  in  use  more  than  six 
hundred  years  ago." 

"So  long  as  that,  Mr.  Oldbuckle 7"  said  Dr.  Sin- 
clair.  "I  have  fixed  the  date  of  its  origin  in  my 
mind  as  1302." 

"  That  is  the  common  chronology,  my  dear  sir ; 
but  the  mariner's  compass  is  mentioned  in  the  Car- 
dinal  de  Vitri's  History  of  Jerusalem,  as  being  indis- 
pensable to  navigators,  and  that  history  was  written 
early  in  the  thirteenth  century,  if  not  indeed  before 
it  commenced." 

"  That  is  an  interesting  fact  which  I  did  not  know," 
returned  Dr.  Sinclair.  "  I  am  aware  that  the  com- 
pass is  claimed  as  a  Chinese  invention  of  very  remote 
date,  and  that  some  affirm  it  to  have  been  introduced 
into  Italy  in  1260,  but  I  had  held  this  latter  point  as 
doubtful.  Your  fact  seems  to  have  a  good  founda- 
tion, however,  and  I  must  yield  to  it,  since  facts  are, 
proverbially,  '  stubborn  things.'  " 

"  You  said  just  now,  papa,"  observed  Alice,  "  that 
the  power  which  dwells  in  the  magnet  is  of  the 
same  kind  as  that  which  is  seen  in  the  electrical 
machine.  Do  you  mean  that  electricity  and  mag- 
netism are  one  and  the  same  V 


242  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

"They  differ  only  in  quality,  Alice,  if  modern 
teaching  is  not  in  error.  Magnetism  is  nothing  but  a 
form  of  electrical  action,  and  the  magnetic  force  of 
the  poles  toward  which  the  needle  directs  itself  is 
supposed  to  be  produced  by  electrical  currents  flow- 
ing around  the  Equator,  just  as  electrical  currents, 
flowing  around  an  iron  bar,  will  make  it  magnetic  for 
the  time." 

"  Will  you  please  tell  me,  sir,"  said  Harry,  "how 
it  is  that  this  little  needle  can  guide  ships  over  the 
ocean  ?" 

"  I  will  try  to  explain  it  to  you,  my  boy,  with 
pleasure.  The  needle  directs  itself  always  toward  the 
north  and  south;  and  so,  if  it  be  placed  in  a  ship  where 
it  is  free  to  move,  it  will  maintain  this  position,  no 
matter  in  what  course  the  ship  is  sailing.  By  fixing 
beneath  it  a  disc  or  dial  with  all  the  points  of  the 
compass  in  their  order  marked  upon  it,  and  contriv- 
ing so  as  to  keep  the  whole  apparatus  always  hori- 
zontal, it  must  follow  that  the  actual  course  of  the 
ship  will  be  shown  by  the  dial.  If  she  is  sailing 
directly  east  or  west,  the  needle  lying  always  over 
the  north  and  south  line  will  have  a  direction  across 
the  line  of  the  course.  If  she  is  sailing  between  any 
of  the  four  great  divisions,  the  particular  direction 
will  be  shown  by  the  line  which  lies  in  the  ship's 
path,  since  the  needle  always  lies  north  and  south, 
and  the  dial  being  fixed  to  it,  must  necessarily  remain 
in  one  position." 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  243 

"  Here,  Harry,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  is  a  pocket 
compass,  which  will  enable  you,  perhaps,  to  under 
stand  it  more  clearly.  You  see  there  are  thirty-two 
points  on  the  dial,  called  the  points  of  the  compass. 
Now,  as  I  hold  the  case,  the  needle  pointing  north 
and  south  across  the  library,  the  length  of  the  room 
is  shown  to  lie  exactly  in  the  direction  of  east  and 
west." 

Harry  had  no  further  difficulty  in  comprehending 
the  use  of  the  compass ;  but  while  this  long  lecture 
was  going  on,  Fanny  had  restored  the  swans  to  the 
basin,  and  was  repeating  her  experiments  in  attraction 
and  repulsion,  beyond  which  principles  of  magnetism 
it  is  quite  doubtful  if  she  made  any  satisfactory 
advance. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

fhe  Fairy  Balloon — William  Sinclair's  Magic — The  Spell  Ex- 
plained— Alice's  Ink-stand — The  Canary's  Water-bottle — Alice 
in  Spangles — The  Diamond  Necklace — Electrical  Light. 

IP  k  C\  EE,  dear  Mary,"  said  William  Sinclair,  reen- 
^  tering  the  library  after  an  absence  of  a  few 
minutes,  "  your  beautiful  gift  from  Mr.  Oldbuckle  is 
now  perfected,"  and,  as  he  spoke,  he  placed  it  upon  the 
table.  The  tall  jar  was  nearly  full  of  water,  at  the 
top  of  which  floated  the  fairy  balloon,  with  its  car  and 
the  figure  of  a  man,  all  in  glass.  The  mouth  of  the 
jar  was  covered  with  cloth.  Mary  thanked  her 
brother  for  his  kindness,  and  greatly  admired  the  lit- 
tle aeronaut.  Fanny  thought  it  was  even  prettier 
than  the  balloon  with  her  little  basket  for  a  car,  but 
then  she  added — 

"  However,  papa,  that  balloon  could  go  up,  and  this 
one  can't." 

Harry  reminded  Herbert  that  they  had  seen  just 
such  a  jar  and  balloon  in  the  window  of  a  store  in 
the  city,  and  wondered  what  use  could  be  made  of 
it,  since,  as  Fan  said,  it  couldn't  be  made  to  go  up. 
"  But  suppose  it  can  be  made  to  go  up,  Fanny  1n 
Fanny  shook  her  head,  as  she  was  wont  to  do  when 
>t  could  not  quite  comprehend  things,  and  said — 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  245 

"  Then,  brother  Willie,  you  will  have  to  take  the 
cover  off,  which  you  have  tied  on  very  tight." 

"  Suppose  I  bid  it  go  down  to  the  bottom  of  the 
jar,  and  then  rise  up  again,  will  that  satisfy  your 
doubts  1"  said  her  brother. 

"  Do,  do — oh !  do,  brother  Willie ;  perhaps  it  is 
like  Bright^eye,  and  will  obey  you?" 

"  Not  like  Bright-eye,  Fanny,  but  here  goes,"  and 
flourishing  his  hand,  he  suffered  it  to  fall  lightly  upon 
the  cover  of  the  jar,  exclaiming  as  he  did  so — 

"  "Water  sprite,  I  bid  thee  go 
To  the  crystal  depths  below ; 
Hasten  in  thy  fairy  car 
To  the  bottom  of  the  jar!" 

"  He's  going  down — he's  going  down  !"  exclaimed 
Fanny,  and  the  little  girl  was  almost  wild  with 
excitement  as  the  car  touched  the  bottom  and 
remained  stationary. 

"  Shall  he  go  up  again,  Fanny  ?"  said  her  brother. 

"  Yes,  oh  !  yes,  let  him  go  up  now." 

"  Water  sprite,  no  longer  stay  I 
Up !  I  bid  thee,  haste  away ; 
Through  the  crystal  ether  rise, 
To  the  region  of  the  skies." 

To  the  increased  delight  of  Fanny  and,  if  the  truth 
must  be  told,  to  the  astonishment  of  Mary  and  of 
both  the  school-fellows,  the  balloon  rose  gracefully  to 
its  former  position  at  the  surface  of  the  water.  By 


246  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

an  adroit  but  scarcely  perceptible  movement  of  hi3 
fingers  upon  the  covering  of  the  jar,  William  Sin- 
clair made  the  balloon  alternate  between  the  top  and 
bottom  several  times,  and  then  suspended  it  about 
the  middle  of  the  jar,  to  the  fresh  surprise  of  the 
younger  spectators. 

"  Your  water-sprite  seems  to  be  very  obedient  to 
your  will,  my  son,"  said  his  father. 

"  I  can  not  comprehend  it,"  said  Herbert,  half- 
musingly,  and  then  turning  to  Alice,  he  added,  "  Do 
you  know,  Alice,  why  the  balloon  rises  and  falls  ?" 

"  I  think  I  do,"  she  replied ;  "  but,  perhaps,  papa 
or  brother  Willie  had  better  undertake  to  explain  it." 

"  I  have  performed  the  experiment,"  said  William 
Sinclair,  "  and,  therefore,  must  beg  to  be  excused 
from  delivering  the  lecture." 

"  Do,  dear  papa,  explain  this  beautiful  and  amusing 
experiment,"  said  Mary,  quite  eagerly. 

"  That  I  will,  with  pleasure,  my  child ;  and  I  am 
glad  to  see  you  so  much  interested  in  it.  It  is  pro- 
perly called  the  pneumatic  balloon — though  a  very 
common  name  for  a  similar  contrivance  is  the  '  bottle 
imp,'  in  which  form  of  it,  a  grotesque  little  image  is 
substituted  for  the  balloon.  You  noticed,  I  presume, 
Mary,  that  your  brother  controlled  its  motions  by 
placing  his  hand  upon  the  covering  of  the  jar  ?" 

"  I  saw  he  kept  his  hand  there,  papa ;  but  I  can 
not  imagine  how  that  had  any  effect  upon  the  bal- 
loon," was  Mary's  reply. 


PHILOSOPHIC    AT    HOME.  247 

"What  is  there  in  the  jar  beside  the  water  and 
the  balloon,  Mary  ?" 

"  Nothing,  papa,  that  I  can  see." 

"  Nothing,  Mary !  What  do  you  say  about  it, 
Harry  ?" 

"  I  say  just  what  Mary  says,  sir  ;  and  that  is  '  No- 
thing.' " 

"  And  you,  Fanny,  can  you  see  nothing  more  ?' 

"  Nothing  at  all,  papa." 

"  Well,  my  dear  children,  nothing  is  something 
now,  at  all  events,  though,  to  be  sure,  you  can  not 
see  it," 

"  Oh !  papa,  do  you  mean  the  air  above  the 
water  V  asked  Mary. 

"  I  do,  indeed,  mean  the  air,  and  it  is  that  which 
causes  the  balloon  to  move  !  The  cloth  over  the  jai 
is  made  of  India-rubber,  and  it  is  air-tight,  so  that 
the  air  beneath  it  is  confined.  If  you  had  seen 
William  prepare  the  balloon,  you  would  have  noticed 
that  it  is  not  only  hollow,  but  that  there  is  an  orifice 
in  its  neck  to  admit  water.  By  warming  the  glass- 
balloon,  he  expelled  some  air  from  the  inside,  and 
then  he  put  it  into  water,  and  soon  the  fluid  entered 
to  fill  up  the  space  left  when  the  heated  air  was 
cooled  into  less  bulk.  I  presume  it  cost  him  some 
pains  to  get  just  enough  water  into  the  balloon  to 
make  it  so  heavy  that  it  would  sink  almost  below 
the  surface,  as  you  see  it  now  does.  When  this  was 
done,  he  put  the  balloon  into  the  jar,  and  tied  down 


248  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

the  cover  very  close  upon  the  little  air  remaining  in 
the  jar.  Now  observe,  that  I  press  lightly  with  my 
fingers  upon  the  cloth,  and  the  balloon  begins  to 
descend." 

"  But  your  fingers  don't  touch  the  balloon,  papa," 
said  Mary. 

"  No,  they  do  not,  truly,  Mary  ;  but  they  diminish 
the  space  above  the  water,  in  which  the  air  is  con- 
fined, do  they  not  ?" 

"  I  can  see  that  they  do  that." 

"  Well,  then,  they  condense  the  bulk  of  the  air  by 
their  pressure.  The  balloon  also  contains  a  little  air 
over  the  water,  and  the  pressure  of  the  fingers  is 
communicated  through  the  water  of  the  jar  to  the  air 
of  the  balloon,  the  bulk  of  which  it  condenses,  and 
so  makes  room  for  a  little  more  water.  That  is 
instantly  pressed  in  from  the  jar,  and  its  weight  dis- 
turbs the  nice  balance  of  the  balloon,  and  carries  it 
down  as  you  see !" 

Herbert  was  not  the  only  one  who  drew  a  long 
breath,  as  the  doctor  closed  this  part  of  his  explana- 
tion, which  had  been  most  eagerly  and  attentively 
listened  to  by  all. 

"  There;  William,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  laughing, 
"  we  have  still  another  instance  of  the  lfacilis  descen- 
sus:  " 

"  Yes ;  but  there  will  be  no  illustration  of  the 
1  hoc  opus"*  to  follow  it,"  was  William  Sinclair's 
rejoinder. 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  '249 

"  Not  the  slightest,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  for  lo !  I 
remove  my  fingers  from  the  cloth,  every  thing  ia 
restored  to  the  state  which  their  pressure  disturbed, 
and  the  balloon  is  just  where  it  was  at  first !" 

'  Really,  Mr.  Oldbuckle,"  said  Miss  Vivian,  "] 
do  not  know  how  to  thank  you  for  affording  me  such 
a  treat  hi  this  charming  little  toy — for  so,  I  suppose, 
you  regard  it;  and  my  thanks  are  equally  due  to 
Dr.  Sinclair  for  his  clear  and  simple  explanation. 
Let  me  make  the  humble  confession,  that  I  did  not 
understand  the  philosophy  of  it,  at  all,  when  Mr. 
Sinclair  first  displayed  his  magic  control  of  it." 

Both  the  gentlemen,  thus  repaid  by  Gertrude's 
thanks  and  ingenuous  acknowledgment,  assured  her 
that  it  was  a  happiness  to  them  to  know  that  they 
had  contributed  to  her  pleasure. 

"  But,  papa,"  said  Mary,  when  these  compliments 
were  over,  "  I  wish  to  learn  every  thing  I  can  about 
this  balloon,  as  1  have  the  great  delight  of  being  its 
owner.  Will  you  please  tell  me  why  every  thing 
was  restored  to  its  former  state  when  you  lifted  your 
fingers  from  the  cover  of  the  jar  ]" 

"I  commend  your  desire,  my  daughter,  and  I 
ought  to  have  been  more  particular  about  the  man 
ner  of  undoing  my  first  labor.  I  will  be  so  now. 
When  I  removed  my  fingers  from  the  cloth,  the  con- 
densed  air  was  immediately  restored  by  its  elasticity 
to  its  proper  bulk.  The  pressure  on  the  air  in  the 
balloon  was  also  withdrawn,  and  that  assumed  ito 


250  HARRY'S  VACATION*;  OR, 

former  bulk — which  it  could  not  do  without  expelling 
the  additional  water  which  made  the  balloon  heavy 
enough  to  sink — and  that  forced  out,  the  balloon 
became  as  light  as  it  was  at  first,  and,  of  course,  rose 
to  its  first  position.  When  William  balanced  the 
balloon  midway  in  the  jar,  he  did  it  by  delicate  and 
rapid  changes  of  pressure  upon  the  cover,  producing 
corresponding  changes  within  the  jar." 

"  Oh !  papa,"  said  Alice,  "  now  I  can  account  for 
something  that  puzzled  me  very  much  indeed,  only 
yesterday." 

"  Well,  Alice,  what  was  the  mystery  ?"  said  her 
father. 

"  I  brought  my  inkstand  down-stairs  to  fill  it  with 
ink.  You  know,  it  is  one  of  the  new-fashioned  sort 
with  a  spout  at  the  side,  which  is  the  only  opening. 
I  took  the  bottle  out  on  the  back-step,  and  filling  the 
stand  as  nearly  as  I  could,  I  took  it  into  the  library, 
where  I  wanted  to  find  a  book  to  carry  up  stairs. 
When  I  had  found  it,  I  went  to  take  up  my  inkstand, 
and  the  ink  was  running  over,  from  the  neck,  upon 
the  table.  I  could  not  imagine  the  cause  of  it  at  the 
time ;  but  now  I  see,  very  clearly,  that  the  cold  air 
confined  in  the  inkstand  must  have  expanded  in  the 
warmth  of  the  library,  and  so  expelled  the  ink  to 
make  room  for  its  increased  bulk.  Am  I  not  correct  ?" 

"Not  only  correct,  my  dear  child,  but,  really,  I 
must  thank  you  for  your  very  pretty  illustration  of 
the  subject,"  said  her  father,  in  a  gratified  tone. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  251 

Every  one  applauded  Alice's  happy  illustration, 
some  with  words,  others  with  beaming  looks,  and 
Herbert  among  the  latter,  though  he  whispered  to 
Harry, 

"If  I  only  knew  as  much  philosophy  as  Alice 
does !" 

"  You  will  be  likely  to  have  another  instance  of 
the  same  kind,  my  bird,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  if 
you  should  happen  to  fill  the  Canary's  water-bottle  in 
very  cold  air,  and  then  put  it  into  its  place  in  the 
cage  in  a  warm  room." 

"  That  phenomenon  has  already  happened,"  said 
Mrs.  Sinclair,  "  though  not  within  Alice's  observation. 
Only  yesterday,  as  I  was  sitting  beneath  the  cage, 
just  after  Alice  had  renewed  the  water,  several  drops 
fell  upon  my  work,  and  I  looked  up,  thinking  that 
Dolce  was  drinking  or  washing.  But  he  was  on 
the  upper  perch,  and  I  perceived  the  water-glass  to  be 
overflowing ;  though  I  thought  no  more  about  it, 
except  to  remove  my  chair,  until  Mr.  Oldbuckle's 
observation  recalled  it  to  my  mind." 

"  Really,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  it  never  rains  but  it 
pours.  Here  are  three  illustrations  of  one  prir  ciple, 
the  elasticity  of  the  atmosphere.  I  hope,  my  daugh- 
ter," he  added,  turning  to  Mary,  "you  are  now 
mistress  of  the  pneumatic  balloon  in  more  senses  than 
one." 

"  I  think  I  am,  papa ;  thanks  to  Mr.  Oldbuckle  in 
the  one  sense,  and  to  you  in  the  other.  However," 


252  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

she  added,  "  I  must  beg  your  pardon  for  desiring  yet 
one  more  piece  of  information  about  it,  as  I  should 
not  like  to  be  asked  what  its  name  means,  and  have 
to  confess  my  ignorance." 

" '  Pneumatic '  is  the  word  which  puzzles  you,  1 
suppose,  Mary." 

"  Yes,  papa,  that  is  quite  above  my  comprehen- 
sion." 

"  Then  I  must  lift  your  comprehension  up  to  it. 
It  is  a  technical,  or  scientific,  term,  from  the  Greek 
root  pneuma,  meaning  breath;  and  it  is  applied  to  that 
branch  of  science  which  treats  of  air  and  its  kindred 
fluids." 

"  And  now,  papa,"  said  Alice,  "  if  you  are  quite 
through  with  Mary's  balloon,  I  shall  be  very  much 
obliged  if  you  will  let  me  know  in  what  sort  of 
characters  Mr.  Oldbuckle  has  had  my  name  written 
upon  the  crimson  glass  plate,  which  he  has  given 
me." 

"  Plow  do  you  know  it  is  your  name  that  is  written 
there,  Alice?"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  Oh !  I  have  been  able  to  trace  it  out  among  the 
numerous  lines  and  spots  which  cover  the  glass,"  she 
replied. 

"  It  is  written,  my  bird,  as  it  was  on  Christmas,  in 
letters  of  light,"  returned  Mr.  Oldbuckle ;  "  but  I  i.m 
sure  your  papa  will  now  show  it  to  you,  for  it  is  your 
turn." 

"  I  must  produce  the  electrical  machine,  then,"  said 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  253 

Dr.  Sinclair,  going  to  a  deep  closet  in  which  he  kept 
it  safe  from  dust  and  moisture. 

"  Oh !  I  know  now  what  it  is,"  said  Alice,  clapping 
her  hands  as  gleefully  as  ever  Fanny  did.  "  It  flashes 
upon  me  that  this  is  like  Mrs.  Marcet's  spiral  tube 
or  diamond  necklace." 

"  It  is  nothing  else,  indeed,  as  far  as  the  principle 
goes,"  said  her  father,  "  but  it  is  a  much  more  com- 
plicated line  of  light  than  that  produced  by  the  spiral 
tube." 

The  electrical  machine  did  not  require  much  care 
to  put  it  in  admirable  order.  The  pith-balls  flew 
asunder  violently,  and  Fanny  drew  to  a  respectful 
distance  from  the  prime  conductor,  as  it  began  to 
"  spit,"  as  she  called  it. 

"This,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  as  he  took  up  Alice's 
Christinas  gift,  "  this  is  Alice's  name  written  with 
the  pen  of  the  lightning." 

"  How  can  that  be  ?"  said  Harry ;  "  I  did  not  know 
that  the  lightning  had  a  pen !" 

Harry  was  well  laughed  at  for  being  so  literal,  and 
in  a  few  moments  he  understood  better  his  father's 
words.  The  lamps  were  extinguished,  and  the  fire- 
light screened,  as  at  the  exhibition  of  the  magio 
lantern,  and  immediately  after,  every  one  tittered  an 
exclamation  of  surprise  or  pleasure,  as  there  shono 
out,  just  above  the  prime  conductor  of  the  machine, 
the  name  of  ALICE,  in  glittering  spangles  of  light, 
while  the  crimson  glass  was  also  sufficiently  illuniiu 


254  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

ated  to  increase  the  beauty  of  the  effect.  Suddenly 
the  name  vanished,  and  then  flashed  out  again,  as 
bright  as  before.  Dr.  Sinclair  then  substituted  for 
the  name,  the  diamond  necklace  of  Mrs.  Marcet,  and 
A  spiral  line  of  spangles  was  produced,  as  Alice  had 
said. 

As  it  was  no\v  late,  Dr.  Sinclair  did  not  extend 
his  illustrations  of  electric  illuminations;  but  when  one 
of  the  lamps  was  relighted,  he  showed  the  young 
people  the  spiral  tube,  which  was  a  glass  tube,  eighteen 
inches  long,  with  a  row  of  tin-foil  discs,  nearly  as 
large  as  peas,  pasted  upon  it  in  a  spiral  form.  They 
did  not  touch  each  other,  and  hence  at  every  interval, 
a  spark  was  visible  when  a  current  of  electricity 
from  the  machine  was  flowing  along  the  metallic  line. 

"  But  why  did  we  not  see  the  sparks  at  first,  one 
after  the  other,  Dr.  Sinclair,  instead  of  all  together  1" 
inquired  Miss  Vivian.  . 

"  Because  such  is  the  velocity  of  the  electric  fluid," 
he  replied,  "  that  it  occupies  no  perceptible  time  in 
traversing  a  vast  distance.  Hence  it  is  that  we  see 
the  flashes  of  lightning  from  cloud  to  cloud,  or  to  the 
earth,  all  at  once." 

"  What  is  the  use  of  cutting  the  tin  foil  into  little 
pieces,  papa?"  said  Harry;  "why  not  paste  it  oil  in 
a  long  strip?" 

"  Oh !  Harry,"  said  Alice,  "  then  there  would  bo 
no  light  at  all ;  for  the  ft  lid  would  pass  over  it  with- 
out  interruption." 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  255 

"  We  have  not  time,  to-night,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair, 
"  to  investigate  this  wonderful  subject  further ;  but 
if  you  all  wish  it,  we  will  devote  to-morrow  morning 
to  it." 

Every  one  expressed  an  eager  desire  to  do  so,  and 
with  this  understanding,  the  electrical  machine  was 
restored  to  its  closet,  and  the  party  prepared  for  rest, 
after  the  excitement  and  delights  of  a  long  and  busy 
day. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

A  Cold  Day  —  Electrical  Apparatus  —  History  of  Electricity  —  Origin 
of  the  Term  —  Electrics  —  Conductors  —  Insulation—  Harry  De- 
clines the  Rod  —  William  and  Mary  Conductors  —  How  Franklin 
Caught  the  Lightning  —  Lightning  Roda  —  The  Leyden  Jar  — 
Induction  —  Harry's  Gift 


was  the  coldest  day  of  the  -winter  so 
JL  far,  and  the  happy  inmates  of  Beech  wood  con- 
gratulated themselves  that  they  were  not  obliged  to 
expose  themselves  to  the  keen  north  wind,  which 
wailed  dismally  enough  through  the  beech  slope  at 
the  back  of  the  dwelling.  A  larger  fire  than  usual 
burned  upon  the  hearth  hi  the  library,  and  the  after- 
breakfast  duties,  which  called  some  of  the  young 
people  out  of  doors,  were  dispatched  with  more  than 
customary  haste.  Fortunately  the  weather  was  dry  ; 
for  otherwise  the  electrical  amusements,  which  were 
to  occupy  the  morning,  might  have  been  somewhat 
hindered. 

Some  especial  preparations  were  made  by  Dr. 
Sinclair  and  William.  The  electrical  apparatus  was 
usually  kept  in  the  library-closet  to  protect  it  from 
moisture  and  from  dust.  It  was  now  brought  out, 
and  placed  upon  a  large  table,  upon  which  the  ma- 
chine was  securely  fastened  by  a  brass  clamp. 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  257 

These  and  other  arrangements  the  young  philoso- 
phers watched  with  interest,  and  when  they  were  com- 
pleted,  Dr.  Sinclair  sent  Fanny  to  beg  her  mamma 
to  favour  them  with  her  company.  When  Mrs.  Sin- 
clair entered  the  library,  and  had  seated  herself  to 
her  netting,  the  doct  jr  gave  the  plate  of  the  electrical 
machine  a  few  quick  turns,  which  excited  so  much 
of  the  subtle  fluid  that  it  began  to  snap  from  the 
prime  conductor,  and  indicated  a  very  satisfactory 
state  of  things.  He  then  presented  his  knuckle  to 
the  brass  knob  on  the  conductor,  and  drew  a  number 
of  loud  and  brilliant  sparks,  every  one  of  which 
made  little  Fanny  shrink,  though  she  took  good  care 
not  to  be  very  nigh  the  machine. 

"  Before  we  begin  our  experiments,"  said  Dr.  Sin- 
clair, "  we  ought  to  learn  something  of  the  history 
of  electricity.  Can  you  tell  us,  Herbert,  whether  it 
is  an  ancient  or  a  modern  science  ?" 

"  I  believe  it  is  modern,  sir,"  was  his  reply. 

"You  are  quite  right,  my  young  friend,  it  is 
modern  ;  for,  although  the  ancients  knew  something 
of  the  curious  property  of  attraction,  which  amber 
and  a  few  other  substances  possessed,  when  they 
were  rubbed,  they  knew  only  the  fact,  and  never 
explained  it." 

"  What  do  you  consider  the  foundation  of  the  pre- 
sent science,  Dr.  Sinclair  ?"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"The  treatise  of  Dr.  Gilbert  on  Electricity  and 
Magnetism,  published  in  1600,"  was  the  reply. 


258  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  And  yet,"  rejoined  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  Dr.  Gilbert 
announced  no  general  laws,  nor  were  any  definite 
principles  discovered  until  the  year  1730,  when  Mr. 
Grey,  a  pensioner  of  the  Charter-House,  made  known 
the  striking  results  of  his  long-continued  experiments. 
I  am  disposed  to  think,  after  all,  that  this  grand 
science  is  only  a  hundred  and  twenty  years  old." 

"  Perhaps  that  is  the  more  philosophical  conclu- 
sion," said  Dr.  Sinclair ;  "  and  certainly  nearly  all 
its  grand  developments  have  been  made  within  a 
century." 

"  What  is  the  hard  name  of  this  science  derived 
from,  papa  ?"  said  Mary. 

"  Ask  Herbert,  my  dear,"  said  her  father. 

She  turned  to  Herbert,  and  questioned  him  with 
her  gentle  eyes,  and  he  said,  with  a  slight  degree  of 
confusion, 

"  I  can  tell  you,  Mary,  but  I  am  indebted  to  Alice 
for  the  ability  to  do  so.  It  is  derived  from  the 
Greek  word  electron,  which  means  amber." 

"  That  name  was  given  to  it,  Mary,"  said  her  bro- 
ther William,  "  because  it  was  in  a  piece  of  amber 
that  Thales,  a  Greek  philosopher,  first  noticed  the 
attractive  power,  which  is  one  of  the  simplest  exhibi- 
tions of  the  curious  principle." 

"  See,"  said  her  father,  as  he  turned  the  handle  of 
the  machine,  dropping,  at  the  same  time,  a  few  scraps 
of  paper  near  the  conductor,  "  see  how  these  light 
substances  are  attracted  by  the  electricity.  A  piece 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  259 

if  amber,  when  it  is  rubbed  hard,  will  produce  the 
siinie  effect." 

"  What  is  it  that  attracts  the  paper,  sir  ]"  said 
Harry. 

"  To  answer  you  in  your  own  offhand  way,  Harry, 
it  is  the  electricity  ;  but,  I  suppose,  you  would  know 
what  electricity  is." 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Well,  it  is  a  very  curious  and  subtle  principle — 
which  we  agree  to  call  a  fluid — existing  everywhere, 
and  manifesting  itself  in  a  great  variety  of  ways. 
We  are  only  now  beginning  to  understand  its  true 
character  and  relations,  and  yet  a  very  large  book 
might  be  filled  with  what  is  known  and  conjectured 
about  it." 

"  Why  do  you  not  have  amber,  instead  of  glass,  in 
your  machine,  papa  ?"  said  Mary. 

"  Because  it  has  been  found  out  that  glass  is  more 
readily  excited  than  amberj  and  it  is  vastly  cheaper," 
he  replied. 

"  I  am  told,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  that  gutta- 
percha  is  found  to  be  even  better  than  glass  as  an 
electric." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  an  electric,  sir  ?"  asked 
Herbert. 

"  Any  substance  which  is  capable  of  being  excited 
readily  by  friction,"  was  the  answer. 

"  Are  not  all  substances  electrics,  then  ?" 

"  By  no  means.     All  the  metals  and  the  liquids 


200  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;    "m, 

are  such  good  conductors  of  the  fluid,  ihat,  when 
they  are  subjected  to  friction,  the  fluid  passes  off,  aa 
fast  as  it  is  produced." 

"  Then  electrics  are  non-conductors,  I  suppose, 
sir  ?" 

"  And  conductors  are  i«on-eleetrics,"  added  Mr. 
Oldbuckle. 

"  But,"  sa**  Harry,  "  the  prime  conductor  is  of 
metal,  and  yet  it  holds  a  great  deal  of  electricity,  I 
should  think,  by  the  way  in  which  it  snaps  at  my 
fingers." 

"  Oh !  that,"  said  Alice,  "  is  because  it  is  insulat- 
ed." 

"  Insulated !"  said  her  brother ;  "  what  does  that 
mean  ?" 

Alice  did  not  reply,  and  Dr.  Sinclair  took  up  the 
question,  and  said, 

"  When  a  body  is  charged  with  electricity,  the 
fluid  seeks  to  escape  to  the  earth,  but  it  can  only  do 
so  through  a  conductor.  If  it  is  surrounded  by  non- 
conductors, it  must  remain.  Now,  the  prime  con- 
ductor, though  of  metal,  is  supported  by  a  glass 
pillar,  down  which  the  fluid  can  not  pass  to  reach  the 
earth." 

"  Why  does  it  not  go  off  through  the  air  ?"  said 
Herbert. 

"  It  would,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  if  the  air  were 
moist ;  but  dry  air  is  almost  a  perfect  non-conductor." 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  took  a  glass  rod,  and  told  Harry 


PUILOSOPHV  AT   HOME.  201 

to  hold  it  near  the  prime  conductor  while  he  turned 
the  plate.  Harry  hesitated  a  little,  but  at  length  pre- 
sented the  rod.  To  his  evident  surprise,  no  effect 
was  produced,  even  when  he  ventured  to  touch  the 
conductor  with  the  glass  wand. 

"  Here,  my  boy,"  said  his  father,  "  take  this  brass 
rod,  and  try  it." 

Harry  took  the  brass  rod,  which  terminated  in 
i  ball,  and  as  soon  as  he  brought  it  near  the  conduc- 
tor, a  bright  spark  leaped  to  the  ball,  and  the  rod  fell 
from  Harry's  hands,  who  jumped  as  though  he  had 
been  struck.  Every  body  laughed  heartily,  and  he 
did  the  same,  though  he  declined  repeating  the 
experiment. 

"  You  see  the  difference,  Harry,"  said  his  father, 
|;  between  glass  and  brass,  and  these  two  substances 
represent  two  great  classes,  embracing  all  material 
things." 

"  Tell  me,  if  you  please,  papa,  what  that  chain, 
which  hangs  to  the  machine  behind  the  plate,  is  made 
to  go  out  of  the  window  for,"  said  Mary,  who  was 
growing  decidedly  curious. 

"  To  keep  up  a  good  supply  of  the  fluid  in  the  rub- 
ber," replied  her  father.  "  The  rubber  soon  gives  all 
its  electricity  to  the  plate,  and  must  have  A  fresh  sup. 
ply  all  the  time." 

William  Sinclair  detached  the  chain,  and  turned 
the  plate  vigorously,  but  the  sparks  from  the  conduc- 
tor were  very  feeble  and  few.     He  now  held  his 
12 


262  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

knuckle  to  the  ball  of  the  rubber,  and  bright  sparks 
passed  between  them,  while  Dr.  Sinclair  obtained 
stronger  sparks  from  the  conductor. 

"  See,  Mary,"  said  William  "  I  am  now  supply- 
ing the  place  of  the  chain,  or,  at  least,  of  one  end  of 
of  it,"  for  he  was  still  holding  it  in  his  other  hand. 

"  Does  the  fluid  really  pass  through  you,  brother 
Willie  ?"  said  Mary,  incredulously. 

"  Yes,  indeed,  it  does,  and  if  you  will  take  my 
hand,  it  will  pass  through  you  also.': 

Mary  rather  timidly  consented  to  do  so,  and,  after 
several  faint  efforts,  mustered  courage  to  bring  her 
finger  near  the  rubber,  when  a  spark  flew  out  of  it  and 
quite  upset  her  resolution.  The  chain  was  now  read- 
justed to  the  rubber,  and  Dr.  Sinclair  asked  Alice  if 
she  could  tell  who  proved  that  the  electric  fluid  and 
the  lightning  were  the  same  thing. 

"Benjamin  Franklin,  papa,  the  great  American 
philosopher,"  said  Alice. 

"  Go  on,  Alice,"  said  Mr,  Oldbuckle;  "  the  story  is 
a  very  delightful  one." 

Alice  begged  him  to  narrate  it,  and  he  kindly  con- 
sented. 

"It  is  just  a  hundred  years  ago,"  said  Mr.  Old- 
buckle,  "  since  Dr.  Franklin  proved  this  remarkable 
fact.  He  had  long  suspected  it,  and  in  June,  1752, 
when  he  resided  in  Philadelphia,  he  went  out  with 
his  son,  to  the  common,  near  the  c'jty,  just  as  a  thun- 
der cloud  had  come  up  in  the  sky  He  made  a  kite, 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  2G3 

by  stretching  a  silk  handkerchief  over  a  light  wcoden 
cross  frame,  and  fastened  a  hemp  string  to  it,  to  sail  it 
with.  To  the  end  of  the  string  he  tied  a  key,  and  to  the 
latter  a  silk  cord,  which  he  held  fast  in  his  hand.  As 
the  cloud  passed  over  him,  he  sent  up  his  kite,  and 
watched  it  till  it  was  nearly  hid  in  the  cloud.  For 
several  minutes  he  observed  no  effect,  but  presently 
a  little  rain  fell  and  moistened  the  string  of  the  kite. 
Immediately  afterward,  its  fibres  bristled  up,  and  put- 
ting his  knuckle  to  the  key,  a  bright  spark,  and 
another,  and  another  passed  to  it  just  as  they  did 
from  the  electrical  machine.  And  then  the  great 
philosopher  knew  that  lightning  was  the  same  as  elec- 
tricity, and  his  delight  can  hardly  be  imagined.  His 
little  son  was  greatly  astonished  to  see  the  tears 
gush  from  his  father's  eyes,  but  I  do  not  wonder  at 
it  at  all." 

"  Nor  I,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  it  was  such  a  grand 
discovery,  that  it  was  worth  tears  of  joy." 

"And  how  did  Dr.  Franklin  bottle  the  thunder 
and  lightning,  papa,  as  I  read  in  some  book  ?" 
inquired  Harry. 

"  He  had  a  Leyden  jar  with  him,  and  charged  it 
from  the  key,  just  as  we  may  do  from  the  con 
ductor." 

"  Franklin  invented  the  lightning-rod,  sir,  did  he 
not?"  asked  Herbert. 

"  Yes,  Herbert,  and  that  was  one  of  the  noblest 
gifts  of  philosophy  to  man." 


264  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

William  Sinclair  now  took  up  the  rod  which  Harry 
had  dropped  upon  the  floor,  and  screwing  off  the  ball 
at  its  end,  disclosed  a  fine  point.  He  then  approached 
it  to  the  conductor,  which  was  heavily  charged. 
Harry  looked  to  see  him  start,  but,  to  his  wonder,  the 
pith-balls  on  the  machine  fell  down,  and  yet  there 
was  no  spark. 

"A  lightning-rod — a  lightning-rod, brother  Willie!" 
said  Alice. 

"  Even  so,  Ally,"  was  his  reply,  "  and  if  you  will 
present  a  needle  to  the  conductor,  the  effect  will  be 
precisely  the  same  as  that  which  astonishes  Harry 
so  much." 

Alice  tried  the  experiment,  and  before  she  could 
venture  to  get  her  hand  quite  up  to  the  conductor  the 
needle  had  dispersed  all  the  fluid,  and  she  felt  no 
shock. 

"  What  sort  of  a  jar  did  you  say  Franklin  had  with 
him,  papa  ?"  asked  Mary. 

"A  Leyden  jar,  Mary,  so  named  after  a  city  in 
Germany,  where  it  was  first  contrived." 

"  I  thought  you  said  a  leaden  jar,  papa,  and  I  won- 
tiered  what  it  meant." 

"  If  I  had  pronounced  it  correctly,  my  daughter,  \ 
should  not  have  mis-led  you.  Spelled  as  it  should  be 
spoken,  it  would  be  the  Zy-den  jar.  But  let  us  look 
at  it  and  see  what  it  is  like,  and  what  it  is  for." 

Dr.  Sinclair  took  up  a  quart  jar,  which  looked  as  if 
it  might  be,  as  Mary  said,  a  leaden  one ;  for  although 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  265 

it  was  made  of  glass,  it  was  coated  nearly  all  over 
with  tin  foil,  and  covered  with  a  wooden  cap.  Through 
this  a  brass  rod  passed.  On  the  top  of  it  was  a  ball, 
and  on  the  other  end  a  chain,  which  dropped  to  the 
bottom  of  the  jar.  He  removed  the  top  and  showed 
the  young  people,  that  the  inside  was  almost  as  much 
coated  with  tin  foil  as  the  outside.  He  then  explained 
to  them  that  when  the  fluid  is  collected  anywhere,  it 
dwells  only  on  the  surface,  and  that  the  tin  foil,  being 
a  conductor,  distributed  it  evenly  over  the  sur 
face  of  the  glass  beneath  it,  until  no  more  could  be 
forced  in. 

"  But,  papa,"  said  Alice,  "  I  do  not  see  the  use  of 
the  tin  foil  which  is  attached  to  the  outside  of  the 
jar." 

"  Then,  I  fear,  my  daughter,  that  you  have  forgot- 
ten what  Mrs.  Marcet  certainly  must  have  taught 
you." 

"  Very  likely,  papa,  and  you  will  kindly  remind 
me  of  it,"  she  rejoined. 

"  I  never  fully  comprehended  that  part  of  the  Ley- 
den  jar,"  said  Gertrude  Vivian,  who  had  been  an 
eager,  though  hitherto  generally  silent  listener  to  the 
discussion. 

"  It  is  an  exceedingly  important  part,  Miss  Vi- 
vian," said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  Yes,  and  it  is  quite  as  difficult  as  it  is  important, 
I  think,"  said  Edward  Vivian. 

"Till  it  is  thoroughly  understood,  I  grant,"  said 


266  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  on, 

Dr.  Sinclair.  "Perhaps  I  shall  be  able  to  m&ke 
Gertrude  and  Alice  quite  comprehend,  even  if  my 
younger  auditors  are  left  in  the  dark.  It  involves  the 
induction  theory.  Whenever  an  excess  of  the  fluid 
is  produced  upon  one  surface  of  a  jar,  the  opposite 
surface  immediately  becomes  deficient  in  the  same 
degree,  and  the  two  sides  are  said  to  be  positive  and 
negative.  The  outer  tin  foil,  therefore,  is  to  aid  the 
dispersion  of  the  external  fluid.  The  simple  proof 
of  this  curious  fact  is  this :  If  we  contrive  to  pre- 
vent the  fluid  from  escaping  on  the  outside,  we  can 
not,  by  any  means,  force  an  excess  into  the  interior 
of  the  jar." 

Here  Dr.  Sinclair  charged  the  Leyden  jar,  and 
effected  its  discharge  in  the  usual  manner ;  and  then 
he  placed  it  upon  a  stool  with  glass  legs,  and  tried 
to  charge  it  again.  But  the  pith  balls  of  the  conductor 
fell  for  a  moment  only,  and  the  sparks  flew  freely 
from  it  to  his  knuckle,  showing  that  the  fluid  did  not 
enter  the  jar.  Nor  did  it  discharge  when  the  bent 
rod  brought  its  two  surfaces  into  contact.  But  when 
William  Sinclair  presented  his  knuckle  to  the  out- 
side of  the  jar,  sparks  passed  freely  from  it,  and  the 
fluid  from  the  conductor  entered  the  jar  and  charged 
it  as  at  first.  Gertrude  Vivian  expressed  herself 
perfectly  enlightened  upon  the  point  by  this  beau- 
tiful demonstration,  and  Dr.  Sinclair,  turning  to 
Harry,  said — 

"  And  now,  Harry,  we  are  quite  prepared  to  com- 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  267 

prehend  the  mystery  of  that  gift  which  you  received 
from  Mr.  Oldbuckle  yesterday,  and  of  which  you  will 
find  no  difficulty,  I  think,  in  making  both  '  head  and 
tail.' " 

Harry  was  eager  enough  to  make  the  discovery, 
which  my  readers  will  find  that  he  did  in  the  next 
chapter, 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

The  Miser's  Plate — Harry's  Avarice  Outwitted — Gertrude  Vivian 
Shocked — William  Sinclair's  Stratagem  Detected — The  Pen- 
alty— Fanny's  Hair  on  End — A  Bright  Kiss — Harry  on  the 
Stool — A  Pistol  Fired  by  his  Nose — Ether  set  on  Fire  by  an 
Icicle— The  Fatal  Stroke. 

HARRY'S  present  from  Mr.  Oldbuckle  was 
briefly  described  as  "  a  pane  of  glass  set  in  a 
neat  mahogany  frame,  with  a  handle  attached,  and 
with  tin  foil  pasted  on  both  sides  of  the  glass."  He 
had  no  further  information  concerning  it,  and  did  not 
even  knoAv  by  what  name  to  call  it.  Neither  Her- 
bert nor  Alice  could  enlighten  him,  and  his  brother 
William  had  told  him  to  "  wait  and  see."  He  was 
now  to  be  initiated  into  its  mysteries ;  nor  he  alone, 
for  many  curious  eyes  were  directed  towards  the 
novel  contrivance. 

"You  want  a  name  for  the  thing,  I  suppose, 
Harry  ?"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  I  think  it  would  be  quite  convenient  to  have  one, 
sir,"  replied  Harry,  laughing. 

"Well,  then  call  it  'The  Miser's  Plate!'  and  let 
me  say  at  once,  that  I  gave  it  to  you  with  reference 
to  its  philosophical  interest  only,  and  if  you  find  any 
moral  significance  in  the  name,  it  will  only  be.  I  s»i 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  269 

sure,  by  suggesting  a  contrast  to  your  own  generous 
disposition." 

Harry  deserved  Mr.  Oldbuckle's  compliment,  for 
he  was  generous  "to  a  fault,"  as  it  is  sometimes 
expressed. 

"  The  miser's  plate !"  said  Harry.  "  Do  misers 
oat  tin  foil  1  for  I  can  see  nothing  else  on  this  plate 
for  any  one  to  eat." 

"  Let  me  put  something  on  it,  then,  that  many 
people  eat  fast  enough,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  and  he 
took  from  his  pocket  and  laid  upon  the  plate  a  bright 
gold  sovereign ! 

Harry's  eyes  dilated,  but  he  was  too  much  inter- 
ested to  speak,  and  Mr.  Oldbuckle  continued : 

"  The  miser  who  owns  this  plate,  (not  you,  Harry, 
but  its  mythological  proprietor,)  makes  a  great  show 
of  liberality,  but  he  Calces  good  care  to  offer  his  gifts 
upon  such  conditions  that  very  few  can  accept  them. 
Now,  for  instance,  he  has  authorized  me  to  say  that 
whosoever  can  take  this  piece  of  gold  from  the  plate, 
when,  and  in  the  manner  he  directs,  may  keep  it  and 
welcome !" 

Looks  of  surprise  and  interest  were  exchanged 
among  the  group,  and  Harry  found  his  tongue  to 
say — 

"  I  shall  certainly  try  my  luck  at  the  gold." 

"  Will  you  '  make  an  effort,'  Miss  Vivian,  as  good 
Mrs.  Chick  suggested  1"  said  William  Sinclair. 

"  I  am  not  avaricious,  I  assure  you,"  was  her  play 


£70  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OK, 

ful  response,  "but  the  terms  'come  and  take  me 
seem  easy,  and  I  may  be  tempted  to  a  trial." 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  hung  a  short  rod  to  the  prime 
conductor  of  the  machine,  to  the  extremity  of  which 
he  approached  the  plate,  which  he  held  in  one  hand, 
till  it  touched  the  piece  of  gold,  and  having  given  the 
machine  one  or  two  turns,  he  withdrew  the  plate  and 
said  to  Harry — 

"  You  are  to  have  the  first  chance,  by  right  of  own- 
ership in  the  plate.  Give  me  your  left  hand,  my  boy, 
take  the  sovereign  with  the  other,  and  put  it  quietly 
into  your  pocket." 

Harry  put  his  left  hand  into  his  father's,  and 
scarcely  suspecting  the  nature  of  the  opposition  he 
was  to  encounter  in  his  effort  to  grasp  the  gold,  he 
prepared  himself  boldly  to  make  the  effort. 

"  Only  once,  remember,"  said  his  father ;  and  even 
these  vague  words  intimidated  him  a  little.  But  he 
put  out  his  fingers,  and  was  just  about  to  close  them 
upon  the  shining  prize,  when  he  drew  back  his  hand 
with  a  sudden  start,  and  at  the  same  time  uttered  a 
loud  scream. 

"What  is  the  matter,  Harry1?"  said  Mr.  Old- 
buckle. 

"  Ah !  sir,"  said  the  defeated  boy,  "  he  is  a  regular 
old  miser,  and  a  coward,  too,  sir ;  for  he  hit  me  in  my 
elbow  just  as  I  was  about  to  pick  up  the  money." 

There  was  a  wild  and  uncontrollable  burst  of  mer- 
riment over  Harry's  failure,  mingling  with  surprise 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  271 

al  the  way  in  which  it  had  been  brought  about.  Nor 
was  this  latter  feeling  at  all  diminished  when  Dr. 
Sinclair,  having  again  put  the  money  to  the  pendent 
•wire,  called  Harry  to  witness  that  it  only  required  a 
little  nerve  to  obtain  the  prize : 

"  See,"  said  he,  "  I  can  take  it  without  difficulty ;" 
and  stretching  out  his  hand,  he  lifted  up  the  gold 
from  the  deceitful  plate. 

"  Now,  Miss  Vivian,  with  such  a  successful  exam- 
ple before  you,"  said  William  Sinclair,  "you  wUl 
not  fail,  I  am  sure,  and  I  shall  be  happy  to  offer  yc  i 
the  prize." 

So  saying,  he  took  the  plate  and  brought  the  money 
into  contact  with  the  conductor  for  a  moment  only. 
He  then  offered  Gertrude  his  hand  and  she  accepted 
it  with  a  slight  hesitation.  In  another  moment  her 
fair  fingers  were  upon  the  coin ;  but,  alas !  she  did 
not  carry  away  the  prize ;  and  I  can  not  conceal  the 
truth  that  she  uttered  a  very  lady-like  scream,  which 
was  instantly  converted  into  a  most  musical  burst  of 
laughter. 

"Well  punished  for  my  avarice,  I  confess,"  she 
said,  as  soon  as  she  ceased  laughing ;  "  but  what  can 
you  say  for  your  treachery,  Mr.  Sinclair  ?" 

"Eeally,  my  dear  Miss  Gertrude," — he  ventured 
this  mode  of  address,  under  cover  of  the  general 
mirth — "  I  can  only  say  that  I  was  as  much  shocked 
»s  you  were,  at  the  unexpected  result." 

"  Of  that  I  have  no  doubt  at  all,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair. 


272  HARRY'S  VACATION;  on, 

Gertrude  shook  her  head  as  her  only  reply  to 
these  protestations ;  but,  turning  to  her  brother, 
said — 

"  Come,  Edward,  get  that  glittering  peril  for  me, 
like  a  generous  knight — won't  you  1" 

"  Let  me  be  your  cavalier,  Miss  "Vivian,"  pleaded 
William  Sinclair.  "  I  will  encounter  the  danger 
alone,  if  you  doubt  that  I  shared  it  with  you." 

And  with  these  words  he  applied  the  gold  to  the 
wire,  and  turned  the  machine  with  unusual  vigour. 
Then  grasping  the  plate  firmly,  he  attempted  to  lift 
the  coin,  and  very  quietly  did  so,  offering  it  to  Ger- 
trude, who  exclaimed, 

"  Treachery  !  treachery  !  I  saw  you  turn  the  plate, 
and  I  call  for  an  explanation  of  the  mystery." 

"  Let  Miss  Vivian  examine  the  plate  for  herself," 
said  William  Sinclair,  "  and  if  she  can  convict  me  of 
a  ruse,  she  shall  decree  such  a  penalty  as  she  may 
think  proper." 

"  Excellent — excellent,"  said  several  voices,  and 
the  magical  plate  was  immediately  proffered  to  the 
fair  arbitress,  who,  however,  hesitated  to  take  it  into 
her  hands.  This  she  did  at  length,  and  inspecting 
first  one  side  and  then  the  other,  she  discovered  upon 
the  latter  a  strip  of  tin  foil,  extending  from  the  handle 
and  connecting  it  with  the  tin  foil  hi  the  centre  of  the 
plate.  She  immediately  perceived  that  when  the 
coin  was  laid  upon  this  side  of  the  plate  the  fluid 
passed  through  it  to  the  hand,  and  none  of  it  lingered 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  273 

in  the  gold.  She  saw,  also,  that  upon  the  upper  sido 
of  the  plate,  the  coin  was  insulated,  and  the  charge 
lingered  in  it  until  a  connection  was  made  between 
the  upper  and  lower  surfaces,  by  the  approach  of  the 
fingers  of  the  person  holding  the  plate,  or  some  one 
else  holding  his  hand.  Her  discovery  -was  hailed 
with  great  applause  by  all  the  party,  and  declared  to 
be  complete  and  satisfactory.  Even  William  Sinclair 
acknowledged  himself  vanquished,  and  professing 
penitence,  begged  Miss  Vivian  to  be  merciful  in  the 
infliction  of  her  penalty. 

"I  decree,"  she  said,  "that  you  shall  try  to  take 
the  gold,  with  as  full  a  charge  of  the  fluid  on  the  right 
side,  as  you  had  before  on  the  wrong  side." 

"  I  will  not  ask  for  any  abatement  of  the  verdict, 
but  die  nobly,"  was  his  answer,  as  he  proceeded  to 
charge  the  plate,  and  turned  the  machine,  until  his 
fair  judge,  laughingly,  ordered  him  to  desist. 

His  effort  to  seize  the  gold  was  a  desperate  one, 
and,  hi  spite  of  a  heavy  shock,  he  actually  lifted  it 
from  the  plate,  but  it  fell  back  with  a  loud  and 
mocking  ring,  that  was  drowned  in  the  chorus  of  mer- 
riment that  ensued. 

"  Hurrah  for  the  miser's  plate,"  said  Harry.  "  It 
is  as  good  as  an  iron  safe  or  a  vault,  any  day,  to  keep 
gold  in!" 

"  And  now,  Fan,"  said  her  father  to  the  delighted 
little  girl,  "  I  want  you  to  let  me  perform  an  experi- 
ment upon  you." 


274  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

"  You  won't  let  it  spit  at  me,  papa,  will  you  ?"  she 
said  pleadingly. 

"  I  will  promise  not  to  hurt  you,  Fanny." 

"  "Well  then,  I'm  ready,  papa." 

The  insulated  stool  before  mentioned  was  now 
placed  upon  the  floor,  and  Dr.  Sinclair  lifted  the  child 
upon  it,  and  putting  the  brass  rod  into  her  hands, 
bade  her  place  it  on  the  prime  conductor.  She 
obeyed  him  with  a  little  trepidation,  but  as  the 
machine  was  at  rest,  she  did  so  with  impunity.  He 
then  worked  the  machine,  and  immediately  Fanny's 
hair,  which  hung  lightly  on  her  neck,  and  was  quite 
dry,  began  to  rise,  until  in  a  few  moments  the  whole 
mass  was  erect.  She  was  frightened,  but  not  hurt  at 
the  shouting  of  Harry  and  the  laughter  of  every  one 
else,  as  they  beheld  the  phenomenon ;  and  when 
Alice  thrust  a  looking-glass  before  her  eyes,  she  put 
her  hands  up  to  her  head  in  dismay,  and  tried  in  vain 
to  smooth  her  hair. 

"  Kiss  me,  Fanny — kiss  me,"  said  Alice,  approach- 
ing the  stool,  and  the  little  girl  put  out  her  red  lips 
for  her  sister's  caress.  It  was  the  most  remarkable 
kiss  that  Fanny  ever  had,  for  a  bright  spark  passed 
from  her  lips  to  Alice's,  and  the  shock  would  have 
nearly  upset  her,  if  her  sister  had  not  clasped  her  in 
her  arms.  Harry  required  very  little  persuasion  to 
mount  the  stool,  and  his  hair  rose  till,  as  Mr.  Old- 
buckle  said,  with  his  accustomed  devotion  to  the 
poets,  "  Lo !  it  makes, 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  275 

' — each  particular  hair  to  stand  on  end 
Like  quills  upon  the  fretful  porcupine.'" 

Our  young  philosopher  proved  himself  equally  a 
hero.  He  bore  the  sparks  bravely,  capering  a  little 
as  William  slily  drew  them  from  his  toes  or  from 
some  other  unsuspecting  quarter.  He  vainly  besought 
his  sisters  to  kiss  him,  and  with  equally  poor  success 
challenged  Miss  Vivian,  and  his  mamma,  to  the  same 
sort  of  conflict.  They  none  of  them  felt  inclined  tc 
tempt  the  fire  of  his  lips.  While  this  sport  was  in 
progress,  Dr.  Sinclair  had  brought  up,  from  the  labo- 
ratory, a  very  neat  apparatus  for  producing  hydrogen 
gas  at  any  moment,  and  opening  the  stop-cock,  he 
allowed  some  of  it  to  enter  a  short  brass  tube,  about 
an  inch  in  diameter,  which  he  held  in  his  hand,  and 
the  mouth  of  which  he  then  closed  with  a  cork.  Near 
the  other  extremity  of  this  tube  there  were  inserted, 
in  the  opposite  sides,  two  insulated  pieces  of  wire, 
which  did  not  quite  meet  in  the  interior,  and  termi- 
nated upon  the  outside  in  small  brass  knobs.  While 
Harry  was  still  standing  upon  the  stool,  his  father 
approached  him  with  this  little  instrument,  and  sud- 
denly presenting  one  of  the  little  knobs  to  Harry's 
nose,  a  spark  passed  from  it,  and  coming  into  contact 
with  the  hydrogen  gas,  mixed  with  the  air  of  the 
tube,  it  exploded  with  a  loud  report,  driving  the  cork 
out  with  violence,  and  quite  upsetting  Harry's  equi- 
librium and  the  gravity  of  even  Mr.  Oldbuckle, 


276  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

whose  tall  form  was  almost  bent  double  by  the 
energy  of  his  mirth.  As  for  Fanny,  she  was  so 
frightened  that  she  stood  transfixed,  and  did  not  even 
run  to  her  mamma's  arms,  her  usual  place  of  refuge 
in  the  hour  of  peril.  Harry  did  not  know  what  had 
happened  to  him,  though  when  he  found  himself 
utterly  unhurt,  he  made  himself  merry  enough  ovei 
the  matter,  and  challenged  his  father  to  repeat  the 
experiment. 

"  Will  you  go,  Herbert,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  and 
bring  me  an  icicle  from  the  pump,  or  from  the  eaves 
of  the  carriage-house  ?" 

Herbert's  mission  was  soon  accomplished,  and  he 
reappeared,  bearing  in  his  hand  a  fine  long  icicle. 
Meanwhile,  Dr.  Sinclair  had  poured  into  a  small 
metallic  dish  with  a  long  handle,  a  quantity  of  ether, 
the  peculiar  odour  of  which  soon  diffused  itself 
through  the  library.  He  now  directed  Herbert  to 
stand  upon  the  stool  and  hold  the  connecting  rod,  and 
as  he  did  so,  and  the  machine  was  turned,  Dr.  Sin- 
clair held  the  ether  dish  out,  and  told  him  to  touch 
the  fluid  with  the  point  of  the  icicle. 

"  Do  see,  Alice,"  said  Mary,  "  it  is  all  on  fire !" 

The  ether  blazed  up  brightly,  and  the  experiment 
was  declared  to  be  quite  as  wonderful  as  it  was 
successful. 

"These,  I  presume,"  said  Miss  Vivian,  "are  illus- 
trations of  the  destructive  power  of  the  lightning 
which  sets  on  fire  combustible  bodies." 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  277 

"  They  are,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  and  I  am  glad  to 
have  it  in  my  power  to  show  you  a  direct  experi- 
ment in  proof  of  the  value  of  the  lightning-rod." 

lie  then  took  from  the  closet  a  small  mahogany 
house,  constructed  of  several  pieces  easily  put 
together,  and  slightly  held  by  small  magnets.  The 
gable  end  had  a  stout  brass  wire  fastened  to  it,  the 
point  of  which  terminated  above  the  chimney.  A 
small  square  of  the  end,  containing  about  an  inch  of 
the  rod,  could  be  taken  out  and  reversed,  so  as  to 
connect  the  rod  with  the  wire  of  a  gas-pistol  inside 
the  house.  This  was  charged  with  hydrogen  and  put 
in  its  place,  with  the  cork  pointed  to  the  roof.  Dr. 
Sinclair  then  discharged  a  Leyden  jar  down  the  rod, 
which  was  still  perfect,  and  no  effect  was  produced 
upon  the  house.  He  then  repeated  the  discharge, 
having  reversed  the  section  of  the  rod,  so  as  to  turn 
the  fluid  into  the  interior  of  the  house.  Instantly, 
there  was  an  explosion,  and  roof  and  walls  of  the 
miniature  edifice  came  tumbling  down  with  a  pretty 
clatter,  which  was  much  augmented  by  the  unre- 
strained mirth  of  the  spectators. 

The  dinner  was  announced  at  this  moment,  but 
Dr.  Sinclair  insisted  that  they  should  all  receive  a 
parting  memento  from  the  electrical  machine.  So, 
with  a  little  coaxing,  the  hands  of  all  were  joined  in 
a  circle,  which  terminated  at  one  end  with  Dr.  Sin- 
clair, who  held  the  jar,  and  at  the  other,  with  Mr. 
Oldbuckle.  I  know  not  how  it  happened,  but  cer- 


278  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

tainly,  William  Sinclair  held  the  hand  of  Gertrude 
Vivian,  and  Herbert  that  of  Alice.  The  jar  was 
charged  only  partially,  and  at  a  wink  from  Dr.  Sin- 
clair, Mr.  Oldbuckle  applied  his  finger  to  the  knob. 
The  effect  was  decidedly  electrical.  There  were  little 
screams  and  loud  screams,  and  some  of  the  party 
thought  they  were  certainly  killed;  but  when  they 
found  they  were  not  really  dead,  they  rubbed  their 
elbows  and  prepared  to  answer  the  summons  of  tl« 
dinner-bell. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Che  Afternoon — Tea-time — Music — Capping  Verses— Verse  vorsut 
Stanza — The  Play — Conundrums. 

MR.  Oldbuckle's  departure,  immediately  after  din- 
ner,  for  "the  Grove,"  had  not  been  effected 
without  a  promise  to  Alice  that  he  would  return  by 
tea-time.  His  cheerful  presence  heightened  all  the 
pleasures  of  the  young  people,  and  he,  himself,  needed 
no  persuasion  to  unite  with  them  hi  their  beautiful 
and  rational  amusements.  Notwithstanding  the  cold 
wind,  Edward  Vivian  and  William  Sinclair  resolved 
upon  having  an  afternoon  ride ;  and  preferring  the 
backs  of  horses  to  the  more  comfortable  cushions  of 
a  sleigh,  they  mounted,  and  bidding  adieu,  for  two  or 
three  hours,  to  the  group  which  assembled  upon  the 
piazza  to  see  them  off,  they  galloped  away  in  the 
direction  of  the  railway  station.  Harry  and  Herbert, 
not  being  able  to  persuade  the  girls  to  go  with  them 
to  the  lull,  started  somewhat  reluctantly  with  their 
sleds;  but  they  soon  forgot  their  little  disappoint- 
ment in  the  excitement  of  their  sport,  and  gave  a 
glowing  account,  upon  their  return,  of  their  "haps 
and  mishaps  "  upon  the  snow-covered  track. 

The  tea-table  brought  all  our  circle  together  once 
more,  and  those  who  had  been  facing  the  keen  ouf 


280  HARRY'S  VACATION     oj 

found  occasion  to  plead  their  exercist  therein,  as  an 
apology  for  their  evening  appetite.  Miss  Vivian 
protested  that  it  was  ungallant  in  the  gentlemen,  to 
excuse  their  devotion  to  the  delicacies  of  Mrs.  Sin- 
clair's  table  by  such  a  plea,  thereby  leaving  herself 
without  such  an  excuse  for  a  devotion  no  less  palpa- 
ble than  theirs.  The  hostess,  on  her  part,  expressed 
her  gratification  at  having  been  able  to  minister  suc- 
cessfully to  their  tastes,  and  in  this  and  other  playful 
conversation,  the  tea-time  was  beguiled. 

"  Are  we  to  have  more  philosophy,  to-night  ?"  said 
William  Sinclair,  when  the  party  had  returned  to  the 
library. 

"  I  think  not,"  replied  his  father ;  "  the  long  lessons 
'*'  the  morning  should  suffice  us  for  one  day ;  and  I 
have  no  fear  that  this  evening  will  hang  heavy  on 
your  hands  without  the  aid  of  science." 

"I  hope,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair,  "that  whatever 
direction  the  amusements  of  the  evening  may  take, 
music  will  not  be  omitted  altogether." 

"  By  no  means,"  added  Dr.  Sinclair ;  "  and  I  am 
sure  that  Miss  Vivian  will  gratify  us  by  opening  the 
performances  at  the  piano-forte." 

"  I  should  be  both  rude  and  ungrateful  to  hesitate 
a  moment  to  comply  with  your  wish,"  said  Gertrude, 
rising  as  she  spoke  and  approaching  the  instrument, 
which  William  Sinclair  hastened  to  open  for  her. 

She  played  and  sang  with  her  wonted  excellence, 
and  then  Mrs.  Sinclair  consented  to  sing  with  her  tho 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  281 

beautiful  duet  from  "Norma,"  which  elicited  the 
admiration  of  the  auditors.  The  music  over,  it  was 
proposed  by  Gertrude  Vivian  that  the  whole  party 
should  unite  in  the  play  of  "  Capping  Verses."  This 
also,  like  the  game  of  "  Proverbs,"  was  new  to  the 
young  people  at  Beechwood ;  but  that  was  no  reason, 
certainly,  why  they  should  decline  it;  on  the  contrary, 
they  were  the  more  eager  for  it,  that  they  might 
increase  their  sources  of  healthful  and  innocent  recre- 
ation. To  the  question  of  Mrs.  Sinclair,  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  game  was  played,  Miss  Vivian 
replied : 

"  The  play  consists  in  the  successive  quotation,  by 
all  the  party,  of  some  verse  of  poetry,  the  only 
restriction  of  which  is,  that  it  must  begin  with  the 
letter  which  terminates  its  predecessor." 

"  Do  you  use  the  term  verse,  my  dear  Miss  Vivian, 
in  its  '  proper,'  or  hi  its  '  common '  acceptation,"  said 
Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  I  use  it  in  its  strict  and  proper  sense,  my  dear 
sir,"  was  the  reply. 

"  What  is  the  difference  between  them,  Mr.  Old- 
buckle  7"  said  Alice. 

"  A  verse  of  poetry,  in  the  vulgar  use  of  the  term, 
means  a  group  of  connected  lines — it  may  be  three, 
or  four,  or  eight.  Thus  we  hear,  commonly,  of  the 
verses  of  a  hymn ;  and  even  educated  clergymen  will 
direct  the  choir  to  omit  such  and  such  verses.  In  the 
strict  sense  of  the  term,  a  verse  is  a  line  of  poetry 


282  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OK, 

be  it  lor.g  or  short,  and  a  collection  of  these  verses  is 
called  a  stanza." 

"I  did  not  know  the  distinction  between  them," 
said  Alice,  "  and  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  the 
information." 

"  You  are  more  thau  welcome,  my  little  bird,"  was 
Mr.  Oldbuckle's  reply. 

"  Miss  Vivian  must  introduce  the  play  to  us  by 
the  first  quotation,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair. 

"  Mine  is  indeed  an  easy  task,"  she  replied,  "  since 
I  have  no  verse  to  '  cap.'  I  give  you,  Mr.  Sinclair,  as 
the  oue  next  to  me,  the  familiar  verse  of  Goldsmith — 

'  Sweet  Auburn,  loveliest  village  of  the  plain.' " 

"  And  I  cap  it,"  said  William  Sinclair,  "  with  this, 
from  the  same  source — 

'  Near  yonder  copso,  where  once  the  garden  smiled.' " 

"And  I,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair,  "must  draw  upon 
.Thomson,  who  exclaims — 

'Delightful  task,  to  rear  the  tender  thought'" 

"  How  can  I  do  better,  then,  my  dear,"  said  her 
husband,  "  than  to  carry  out  the  thought  and  words 
of  your  poet — 

'  To  teach  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot.' " 

"  Suppose  I  fire  in  the  same  direction,"  chimed  in 
Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  and  so  contribute — 

'  To  pour  the  fresh  instruction  o'er  the  mind.' " 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  283 

"  1  can  only  think  of  one  D,"  said  Herbert,  after  a 
little  pause,  "  so  please 

'  Don't  view  me  -with  a  critic's  eye.' " 

After  a  moment's  hesitation,  Alice  took  up  her 

verso — 

"  Each  pleasure  hath  its  poiaon  too." 

"  I  respond  to  that  sentiment,"  said  Edward  Vivian, 
"  in  the  exquisite  words  of  Moore — 

•Oh!  yes!  oh  I  yes  I'" 

Harry  and  Mary  both  pleaded  to  be  excused  for 
the  present,  and  Miss  Vivian  took  up  her  brother's 
verse,  saying : 

"  I  will  exclaim  with  Milton — 

'  Sweet  ia  the  breath  of  morn — her  rising,  sweet' " 
"  And  I,"  responded  William  Sinclair,  "  will  add — 
' Throw  up  the  window;  'tis  a  morn  for  life.' " 

"  You  must  excuse  me,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair,  "  if  I 
prefer  the  twilight — 

'  Ere  the  evening  lamps  are  lighted.' " 

"  Allow  me,  then,"  replied  her  husband,  "  to  sing 
with  Shakspeare,  of — 

'Dark  night,  that  from  the  eye  ita  function  takes.' " 

"  And  I,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  am  free  to  oonfess 
that  my  heart 

'  Sits  light  and  jocund  at  the  day's  return.' " 


284  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"What  shall  I  do  for  N?"  said  Herbert,  with  a 
perplexed  look.  "  Oh !  I  have  one — 

'Now's  the  day,  and  uow's  the  hour.' " 

Alice  declared  that  she  could  not  think  of  any  verse 
beginning  with  R,  and  so  Edward  Vivian  interposed 
with — 

"Roll  on,  thou  deep  and  dark  blue  ocean,  roll" 

This  time  Harry  was  more  fortunate,  and  with 
only  a  moment's  delay  he  said : 

"  Make  way  for  good  old  Dr.  Watts — 

'Let  dogs  delight  to  bark  and  bite.'  " 

Miss  Vivian  observing  that  Mary  was  not  prepared 
to  follow  up  her  brother's  verse,  continued  the  play 
by  quoting  the  poetical  adage — 

"  Early  to  bed,  and  early  to  rise." 

William  Sinclair,  laughingly  protesting  that  it  was 
not  fair  to  perpetuate  the  initial  letter  by  the  use  of 
verses  beginning  and  ending  with  the  same,  capped 
Miss  Vivian's  quotation  with  the  verse  from.  Words- 
worth— 

"  Earth  hath  not  any  thing  to  show  more  lair." 

Mrs.  Sinclair,  with  her  usual  promptness,  quoted 
tho  verse — 

"  Remote,  unfriended,  melancholy,  slow.'1 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  285 

• 

Dr.  Sinclair,  with  a  memory  of  famous  John  Gilpin 
stealing  over  him,  took  up  the  final  letter  thus — 

"What  news?  what  news?  your  tidings  tell  I" 

"  Pardon  an  old  man,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  if  ho 
dares  to  be  sentimental,  but  L  suggests  love,  and — 

'Love  is,  or  ought  to  be,  our  greatest  bliss.'" 

Herbert  was  obliged  to  pass  the  letter  S  to  Alice, 
and  she,  after  a  little  fruitless  thinking,  resigned  it  to 
Edward  Vivian,  who  found  speedy  use  for  it  in  the 
line — 

"Some  natural  tears  they  dropped,  but  wiped  them  soon." 

Miss  Vivian  now  observing  that  the  letter  lingered 
again  with  Harry,  and  fearing  that  the  younger  mem- 
bers of  the  party  might  not  find  the  play  as  pleasing 
as  it  was  to  herself,  proposed  to  devote  the  rest  of 
the  evening  to  conundrums,  and  the  proposition  was 
hailed  with  evident  and  eager  pleasure  by  all  the 
party. 

"Are  they  to  be  original,  only,  Miss  Vivian?" 
inquired  Dr.  Sinclair. 

"  We  will  make  no  positive  rule  to  that  effect,  sir, 
if  you  please ;  but  let  all  do  their  best  to  promote 
the  general  amusement ;  and  I  shall  entreat  of  you  t?o 
begin,  and  then  whoever  guesses  right,  to  have  the 
question." 

"I  suppose,"  replied  Dr.  Sinclair,  with  a  smile, 
13 


28<>  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

• 

"  you  will  at  least  expect  something  new  from  me. 
and  I  must  beg  a  moment  to  think." 

After  a  moment's  thought,  he  inquired — 

"  Why  is  the  snow  like  a  tree  ?" 

After  sundry  guesses,  to  which  Dr.  Sinclair  merely 
shook  his  head,  Gertrude  Vivian  replied  with  cage?, 
ness — 

"  Because  it  leaves  in  the  spring." 

"  You  have  fairly  won  the  right  of  puzzling  us, 
Miss  Vivian,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair. 

"  I  will  avail  myself  of  it,  then,"  she  replied,  "  to 
ask — 

"  Why  is  a  writer  on  horticulture  a  traitor  ?" 

One  after  another  declared  themselves  ready  to 
"  give  it  up ;"  but  Gertrude  waited  still,  nor  did  she 
wait  in  vain,  for  Mrs.  Sinclair  solved  the  riddle  by 
replying — 

"Because  he  writes  trees-on." 

"  Oh !  Gerty,"  said  her  brother,  "  I  did  not  think 
you  would  be  guilty  of  such  a  perpetration  as  that ! 
but  we  will  hope  for  something  better  from  Mrs. 
Sinclair." 

"  You  will  be  disappointed,  then,  Mr.  Vivian,  for  I 
have  to  ask — 

"  Why  is  a  book  like  an  organ  ?" 

"Because  it  contains  stops,"  exclaimed  Edward, 
immediately. 

"  You  arc  so  far  right  as  to  insure  to  yourself  the 
right  of  succession,  Mr.  Vivian,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair, 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  287 

"  unless  some  one  else  completes  the  answer  which  ] 
require." 

No  one  volunteered  to  improve  upon  Edward's 
reply,  and  Mrs.  Sinclair  amended  it  thus : 

"  Because  it  contains  stops,  and  requires  puffing  to 
make  it  go." 

"Capital!"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle ;  "really,  my 
dear  madam,  you  are  an  adept  in  the  art." 

"Why  should  a  well-finished  book  last  a  long 
time  1"  asked  Edward  Vivian. 

"  Ha  !  ha  !"  said  William  Sinclair.  "  Because  it 
is  bound  to  do  so,  I  suppose  ?" 

"Exactly,"  said  Edward,  "and  now  you  have  a 
chance  to  beat  that,  if  you  can." 

"As  books  seem  to  be  the  popular  subject  for  our 
conundrums,  allow  me  to  ask,  Why  is  a  dull  volume 
like  an  air-pump  ?" 

"  Oh !  brother  Willie,  I  can  guess  that,"  said 
Alice.  "  Because  it  exhausts  the  receiver !" 

Alice's  readiness  won  for  her  a  very  general 
expression  of  praise,  but  it  won  also  something 
which  she  did  not  think  of  at  the  moment,  or  she 
might  have  been  less  prompt.  It  was  the  duty  of 
proposing  the  next  riddle. 

"  My  conundrum,"  she  said,  "  is  not  original,  but 
it  will  be  all  the  better  for  that.  It  is  this,  '  Why  is 
a  wafer  like  an  inhabitant  of  the  sea  ?' " 

"I  should  think  you  have  given  us  the  answer  in  the 
question,  Alice,  or,  at  least,  within  an  ell  of  it,"  said 


288  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  and  so  I  reply,  because  it  is  a 
seal." 

"  Yes,  sir,  that  is  the  answer,  and  I  am  glad  you 
guessed  it,  because  I  want  very  much  to  hear  your 
conundrum." 

"  Instead  of  being  rewarded  for  acuteness,  we  have 
to  pay  a  penalty,"  he  replied,  "  and  so  I  will  inquire, 
Why  is  an  antiquarian  like  the  treasurer  of  the 
mint  ?" 

The  word  coin  was  upon  several  lips,  but  it  was 
some  moments  before  any  one  shaped  an  answer. 
Then  Dr.  Sinclair  replied, 

"I  suppose  it  is  because  he  determines  the  amount 
of  coin-age." 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  your  answer 
does  more  honour  to  my  conundrum  than  to  your- 
self." 

"  I  wanted  the  opportunity  to  ask,"  said  Dr.  Sin- 
clair,  "  Why  is  a  newspaper  like  the  Mosaic  dispensa- 
tion ?" 

No  one  offered  a  satisfactory  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion, and  to  the  general  cry  of,  "  We  give  it  up,"  Dr. 
Sinclair  responded — 

"  Because  it  is  made  up  of  types  !" 

"  Well,"  said  William,  "  that  conundrum  ought  to 
make  an  impression  upon  us,  I'm  sure." 

"  I  shall  resign  my  right  to  Herbert,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair. 

"  I  can  not  think  of  any  good  conundrum,"  replied 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  289 

Herbert ;  "  but  I  recollect  a  '  curious  question,'  which 
amused  papa  very  much  when  I  told  him  of  it. 
Shall  I  substitute  that,  sir  ?" 

"  By  all  means,  my  boy.  Let  us  have  it,"  replied 
Dr.  Sinclair. 

"  What,"  said  Herbert,  "  is  a  brief  method  of 
writing  '  a  thousand  fiddles  ?'  J 

Herbert  was  unanimously  called  upon  to  answer 
his  own  question,  which  he  did  by  saying, 

"  I  should  write  it,  Fiddle  D  D,  (fiddle-dee-dee  !)" 

As  Herbert  still  had  the  question,  he  resigned  it  to 
Mary,  who  seemed  to  have  something  which  she 
wished  to  propose. 

"  Come,  my  daughter,"  said  her  mother,  "  do 
honour  to  Herbert's  generosity." 

"  I  will,  ask  then,"  said  Mary,  "Why  is  a  game  of 
Blind  Man's  Buff  like  sympathy  ?" 

Mary's  conundrum  was  one  of  the  most  successful 
of  all,  for  it  happened  that  not  one  in  the  company 
had  heard  it,  and  no  one  could  make  a  satisfactory 
answer.  She  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  reply  to  it 
herself. 

"Because  it  is  a  fellow-feeling  for  a  fellow  crea- 
ture !" 

It  was  received  with  hearty  approbation,  much  to 
Mary's  delight.  She  asked  Harry  to  take  her  priv- 
ilege, and  he  consented  to  do  so,  proposing  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"Why  is  a  kiss  like  an  irregular  Latin  noun1?" 


290  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

"  Oh !  my  boy,"  said  his  mother,  "  because  you 
find  it  difficult  to  decline  ;  is  that  it  Harry  ?" 

Harry,  laughingly,  assented,  and  Mrs.  Sinclair  said 
that  she  now  resigned  her  turn  to  Fanny,  who,  if  she 
was  not  mistaken,  had  a  little  riddle  to  propose  to 
the  company. 

"  Well,  Fanny,  dear,  what  is  it  ?"  said  her  papa, 
encouragingly. 

"  Why  can  I  raise  a  breeze  ?"  said  the  little  girl 
with  eagerness. 

"Oh!  because  you  are  a  Fan,"  said  her  papa, 
laughing,  and  he  added,  "  you  shall  have  the  honour, 
Fanny,  of  having  proposed  the  last  riddle ;  for  it  is 
now  past  bed-time  for  a  little  girl  whom  I  know 
very  well,  and  there  may  be  others  of  our  party 
who  will  not  object  to  repose  after  our  usual  even- 
ing worship." 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Why  Natural  Science  is  often  a  Dull  Study — Harry's  Experi- 
ment— The  Sucker — The  Atmosphere — Winds  and  Hurricanes — 
Weight  of  the  Air — Alice  Raised  by  the  Air — The  Difference. 

THE  morning  of  Wednesday  brought  more  snow, 
which  was  still  falling  when  the  family,  and 
their  guests,  gathered  for  prayers.  As  there  was  no 
inducement  for  them  to  seek  out-of-door  amusement, 
and  as  Edward  Vivian  and  his  sister  were  to  depart 
on  the  morrow,  Dr.  Sinclair  cheerfully  consented  to 
the  request  of  Gertrude,  that  the  morning  should  be 
devoted,  like  that  of  the  previous  day,  to  philosophy, 
a  request  which  was,  indeed,  earnestly  seconded  by 
all  the  party. 

Gertrude  Vivian  was  possessed  of  an  eager  mind, 
which  had  been  cultivated  to  a  degree  not  usually 
attained  by  young  persons  of  her  sex.  In  natural 
science,  however,  she  had  studied  books  without 
the  advantage  of  experimental  illustration,  a  defect 
surprisingly  common  in  the  best  seminaries,  even 
where  a  scientific  apparatus  is  duly  paraded,  in 
the  annual  catalogue  or  circular,  as  among  the  appli- 
ances of  the  school.  The  delightful  entertainment 
of  the  previous  day  served  to  awaken  in  her  mind, 
therefore,  a  new  idea  of  the  charms  of  science,  which, 


292  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

it  must  be  confessed,  she  had  hitherto  considered  to  be 
exceedingly  mythical.  She  began  to  understand  how 
its  votaries  might  be  fascinated  in  its  pursuit,  and  she 
regretted  that  her  progress,  through  the  text-books  of 
Philosophy  and  Chemistry,  had  not  been  enlightened 
and  beautified  by  practical  instruction. 

"  I  have  regarded,"  she  said,  addressing  her  host, 
"  the  time  I  devoted  to  the  Natural  Sciences  while  at 
school,  as  completely  thrown  away,  except  as  an 
exercise  for  the  memory,  in  the  verbatim  recitations 
of  dull  chapters  full  of  inexplicable  terms ;  but  I  now 
see  that  it  might  have  been  otherwise,  had  I  enjoyed 
the  advantages  of  experimental  lessons.  It  is  well, 
perhaps,"  she  added  with  a  smile,  "  that  I  did  not, 
however,  for  I  should  certainly  have  been  an  enthusiast 
in  those  branches,  and  might  have  neglected  others  of 
no  less  importance." 

"I  am  surprised,  my  dear  Miss  Vivian,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair,  "  that  there  can  be,  in  this  practical  age, 
such  palpable  neglect  of  the  natural  sciences  in  all 
our  schools — and  I  mean  the  colleges  as  well  as  the 
seminaries — for,  with  honourable  exceptions  in  both 
classes  of  institutions,  they  treat  the  science  of  Nature 
with  culpable  disrespect." 

"  I  perfectly  agree  with  you,  my  dear  sir,"  said 
Mr.  Olrlbuekle  ;  "  and  if  I  had  the  dictatorship  of  our 
schools,  I  would  decree  that  physical  science  should 
be  taught  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  forms 
Now,  I  am  sure  that  even  little  Fanny  here  has 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  293 

obtained  more  knowledge  of  a  useful  kind  from  your 
playful  instructions  than  she  could  get  from  mere 
book-lessons  in  a  month." 

"The  science  of  every-day  life  is  sadly  over- 
looked by  all  of  us,  and  we  should  be  wiser  and  bet- 
ter,  too,  if  we  paid  more  heed  to  the  philosophy  that 
shines  in  our  daily  paths." 

"  Your  words  remind  me,"  said  Gertrude  Vivian, 
"  of  the  exquisite  lines  of  Mrs.  Hemans,  for  whose 
poetry  I  have  not,  I  am  free  to  confess,  outlived  my 
girlish  love — 

'  There's  beauty  all  around  our  paths, 

If  but  our  watcliful  eyes 
Can  trace  it  in  familiar  things, 
And  'neath  their  lowly  guise.' 

I  do  not  know,"  she  added,  "  that  the  sweet  poetess 
alluded  to  the  philosophy  of  '  familiar  things ;'  but 
if  she  did  not,  we  may  certainly  apply  her  words 
to  that,  with  a  beautiful  propriety." 

"  The  poets  are  not  all  ignorant  of  the  philosophy 
of  common  things,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle.  "  One  of 
them  says,  if  you  recollect : 

'  Nature  has  notliing  made  so  base,  but  cau 
Read  some  instruction  to  the  wisest  man.' " 

"  See,  papa,"  said  Harry,  entering  the  library  with 
Herbert  and  the  girls  behind  him,  "  see  my  philo« 
sophical  experiment." 

As  he  spoke,  he  swung  before  him  a  flat  slab  of 


294  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

marble,  suspended  apparently  to  a  piece  of  cord 
which  he  held  in  his  hand. 

"  I  call  this  '  a  sucker,'  "  he  added,  "  but  Alice 
says  that  it  is  one  of  Mrs.  Marcet's  philosophical 
experiments.  We  used  to  do  it  at  school,  and  it  was 
groat  fun  to  lift  up  the  flag-stones  in  the  yard  in  this 
way." 

"Suppose,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  turning  to  Miss 
Vivian,  "  that  we  make  this  interruption  of  Harry's, 
the  key  to  our  morning  amusement.  It  will  intro- 
duce us  to  a  very  beautiful  branch  of  science,  and  to 
a  very  wonderful,  though  common  fluid." 

"  You  mean  by  the  fluid,  the  atmosphere,  papa,  do 
you  not  7"  said  Alice. 

"  I  do,  my  daughter,  and  the  branch  of  science  is 
the  very  one -we  touched  upon,  while  explaining  Mary's 
balloon." 

"  I  am  delighted  at  the  proposal,"  said  Miss  Vivian, 
"  and  much  obliged  to  Harry  for  his  timely  interpo- 
sition with  his  '  sucker.'  " 

Harry  felt  a  little  proud  at  the  elevation  of  his 
sport  into  a  subject  for  scientific  discussion,  a  result 
very  far  from  his  thoughts  when  he  found  the  slab 
in  the  hall,  and  bethought  himself  of  a  nice  leather 
sucker  which  he  had  brought  from  school  in  his  trunk. 
To  get  it,  and  soften  the  leather  in  water,  was  the 
work  of  a  few  moments,  and  immediately  after  he 
made  his  appearance,  as  already  described,  in  the 
library. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  295 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  directed  him  to  detach  the  sucker 
from  the  slab,  which  he  accomplished  by  putting  hi? 
feet  upon  the  stone,  and  pulling  with  considerable 
force.  He  then  explained  to  Mary  and  Fanny,  that 
the  only  hold  the  round  piece  of  leather  had  upon  the 
slab  was  that  of  contact,  by  being  pressed  closely 
upon  it.  They  both  wondered  that  the  leather  should 
cling  fast  enough  to  lift  the  stone,  which  weighed 
twenty  or  twenty-five  pounds,  while  the  leather  was 
not  larger  than  the  palm  of  Fanny's  hand.  Harry 
and  Herbert  did  not  wonder  at  the  result  in  the  same 
sense  that  the  young  girls  did,  because  they  had  seen 
it  so  often  that  it  was  a  familiar  sight;  but  they  could 
not  have  given  any  better  explanation  of  it  than  Mary 
herself,  who  now  asked  her  father  with  a  look  of 
eager  interest, 

"  What  is  it,  papa,  that  makes  the  marble  hold  to 
the  leather  1" 

"  It  is  the  air  which  we  breathe  every  moment, 
Mary,"  was  her  father's  reply. 

Mary  looked  puzzled,  and  Fanny  shook  her  head 
sagely,  while  the  former  said,  with  a  little  hesitation, 

"  I  can  not  see  how  the  air  can  lift  it,  papa,  when. 
it  can't  keep  an  apple  from  falling,  or  even  a  feather, 
for  that" 

"  You  shall  see  my  daughter,  before  we  dismiss  the 
subject.  I  perceive  that  we  shall  find  some  oppor- 
tunity for  important  lessons  here.  "What  do  you 
think  the  air  is,  Mary  1" 


•296  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  You  have  called  it  a  fluid,  papa ;  but  I  do  no. 
know  how  you  can  tell  any  thing  about  it,"  was 
Mary's  answer. 

"  Science  teaches  us  all  about  it,"  said  her  father, 
"just  as  it  does  about  all  other  material  substances. 
It  teaches  us  that  air  is  a  fluid  which  envelops  the 
earth  like  a  vast  ocean  of  uniform  depth,  and  that  the 
depth,  or  perhaps  I  should  say  height,  of  the  atmo- 
sphere is  about  forty  miles." 

"  Why,  papa,"  said  Harry,  "who  has  ever  been  up 
high  enough  to  find  that  out  ?" 

"  No  one,  Harry,  I  must  confess ;  but  it  is  found 
that  the  higher  we  go  up,  the  lighter  the  air  becomes, 
and  its  density  decreases  so  regularly,  that  it  is  easy 
to  calculate  at  what  height  it  must  cease  to  exist. 
This  ocean  of  air,  like  the  ocean  of  water,  is  full  of 
life  and  activity.  Myriads  of  beings  live  in  it,  and 
besides  this,  it  is  subject  to  great  agitations,  and  rolls 
and  heaves  with  vaster  billows  than  those  of  the 
stormiest  sea." 

**  You  are  thinking  of  winds  and  hurricanes,  sir,  I 
perceive,"  said  Gertrude  Vivian. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  they  are  themselves, 
the  huge  billows  and  surges  of  the  atmospheric  sea, 
set  in  motion  by  heat  and  electricity.  These  winds 
and  hurricanes  toss  the  waters  of  the  ocean  moun- 
tains high,  and  dash  the  largest  ships  to  pieces,  or 
they  uproot  the  giant  oaks  of  the  forest,  and  destroy 
the  grandest  works  of  man.  And  yet  Mary  says 


PHILOSOPHV    AT   HOME.  297 

that  she  can  not  see  how  the  air  can  lift  a  little  slab 
of  marble  like  this !" 

Mary's  face  flushed  a  little  at  her  father's  words, 
but  she  could  not  say  that  her  difficulty  was  over- 
come; and  Harry  kindly  interposed  in  her  behalf,  by 
saying, 

"  But  it  is  not  a  hurricane,  papa,  which  holds  up 
this  stone." 

"You  are  safe  in  saying  that,  Harry;  but  the  force 
which  does  hold  it,  is  precisely  the  same  as  that 
exerted  by  the  hurricane.  It  is  the  weight  of  the 
air  which  produces  the  effect  in  both  cases." 

"The  weight  of  the  air,  sir?"  said  Herbert ;  "  why. 
I  did  not  know  that  it  had  any  weight !" 

"  Not  when  you  were  running  home  in  the  face  of 
a  gale,  Herbert  ?" 

"  Oh !  yes,  sir,  I  suppose  I  must  confess  that ;  but 
then  I  did  not  think  of  that  as  being  the  weight  of  the 
air." 

"Herbert's  difficulty  is  a  very  common  one,  I 
fancy,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle.  "  The  air  is  used  as  a 
symbol  of  lightness,  and  the  poet  speaks  of  '  trifles 
light  as  air.' " 

"And  yet,  Herbert,"  continued  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  tho 
air  which  encompasses  our  globe  is  estimated  to  bo 
equal  in  weight  to  a  sphere  of  lead  sixty  miles  in 
diameter,  or  to  more  than  five  thousand  billions  of 
tons !" 

Tlais   astonishing  result   startled   every  ear,  not 


298  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OB, 

withstanding  it  was  knovai  to  several  of  the  listeners, 
and  the  young  people  expressed  surprise. 

Dr.  Sinclair  asked  Alice  if  she  remembered  the 
veight  of  the  atmosphere  upon  a  single  square  inch 
of  surface.. 

"  Fifteen  pounds,  I  believe,  papa,"  she  replied. 

"Alice  is  correct,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair ;  "  and  now, 
Herbert,  I  will  suppose  that  there  are  in  your  body 
fifteen  hundred  square  inches,  or  a  little  more  than  ten 
square  feet,  which  is  not  much  out  of  the  way,  I  am 
sure.  At  the  rate  of  fifteen  pounds  upon  every 
square  inch,  there  must  be  a  continual  pressure  upon 
your  body  of  twenty-two  thousand  five  hundred 
pounds !" 

"  P-h-e-w  !"  was  Harry's  incredulous  utterance  of 
wonder,  while  Herbert  said, 

"  Such  a  weight  as  that,  sir,  would  crush  me  all  to 
pieces." 

"  So  it  would,  my  boy,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  but 
for  this  one  thing,  that  it  is  exerted  upon  you  with 
equal  force  in  every  direction,  internally  and  exter- 
nally, and  therefore  you  do  not  feel  it  all." 

"  How,  then,  can  you  find  it  out,  sir  ?"  said  Her- 
bert. 

"  By  taking  away  the  pressure  upon  one  part,  and 
leaving  it  to  act  upon  another.  Let  us  look  a  little 
at  Harry's  '  sucker,'  which  has  been  almost  forgotten. 
Harry  will  have  to  moisten  the  leather  again,  for 
the  heat  of  the  room  has  shrunk  it  a  little." 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  299 

Harry  soon  put  his  apparatus  into  excellent  order, 
and  Dr.  Sinclair  resumed : 

"  When  Harry  spread  the  soft  leather,  just  now, 
upon  the  stone,  he  excluded  the  air  between  it  and 
the  stone's  surface.  By  pulling  on  the  string,  which 
passes  through  the  centre  of  the  leather,  the  latter  is 
lifted  up  into  a  sort  of  cone,  or  cup,  which  must  be 
empty,  or,  in  other  words,  can  have  no  air  in  it.  In 
that  space,  therefore,  there  is  no  power  exerted  upon 
the  upper  surface  of  the  slab,  but  the  air  below  the 
slab  still  acts,  and  its  force  is  sufficient  to  lift  the 
stone  up  and  keep  it  pressed  against  the  leather,  so 
long  as  the  air  is  kept  from  entering  the  vacant  space 
above." 

"  How  large  a  stone  would  it  lift,  sir  ?"  said  Her- 
bert. 

"  That  depends  upon  the  size  of  the  cavity  made 
by  the  leather.  If  it  contains  two  square  inches  of 
surface,  of  course  it  will  lift  thirty  pounds.  But  I 
will  show  you  an  experimeut  of  a  similar  kind,  in 
which  we  shall  be  able  to  measure  exactly  the  force 
exerted." 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  selected  from  the  apparatus  which 
had  been  brought  out  for  the  purpose,  an  instrument 
which  consisted  of  a  thick  glass  cylinder,  about  four 
inches  in  diameter,  open  at  both  ends.  Within  the 
cylinder  there  was  a  block  of  wood  with  soft  black 
leather  upon  its  rim,  which  fitted  closely  to  the  glass, 
and  required  some  force  to  irove  it  up  and  down. 


300  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

A  strap  hung  from  a  hook  in  the  block  through  the 
lower  end  of  the  cylinder,  which  had  a  rim  to  keep 
the  block  from  sliding  out.  The  upper  end  of  the 
cylinder  also  had  a  stout  rim,  but  it  projected  outward 
and  served  to  suspend  the  cylinder  on  a  wooden 
frame,  which  was  mounted  upon  three  strong  iron 
legs. 

Dr.  Sinclair  and  William  now  raised  the  tripod 
upon  three  chairs,  so  that  they  were  able  to  hang  a 
chair  to  the  strap  in  the  block.  When  this  was 
adjusted,  the  top  of  the  cylinder  was  covered  with  a 
perfectly  smooth  plate  of  brass,  into  the  centre  of 
which  was  screwed  fast  a  long  narrow  tube  of  India 
rubber,  the  other  end  of  which  had  previously  been 
screwed  into  the  brass  plate  of  the  air-pump. 

At  her  father's  request,  Alice  now  seated  herself 
in  the  chair,  which  rested  upon  the  floor.  William 
Sinclair  worked  the  lever  of  the  air-pump,  and  im- 
mediately to  the  great  amazement  and  delight  of  all 
the  party,  the  chair  with  its  fair  burden  began  to 
rise,  and  continued  to  do  so  until  the  block  had  gone 
up  from  the  bottom  to  the  very  top  of  the  cylinder. 
As  the  chair  first  swung  in  the  air,  Alice  seemed 
greatly  inclined  to  spring  out  of  it,  but  once  assured 
by  her  father's  word,  she  sat  quietly  enough,  until 
the  block  descended,  and  the  chair  again  rested  upon 
the  floor. 

There  were  not  a  few  then  ready  to  make  the 
magical  ascent,  and  even  little  Fanny  grew  bold 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  301 

enough  to  go  up.  When  the  excitement  was  a  littlo 
over,  Harry  said, 

"  But,  papa,  how  is  this  experiment  at  all  like  my 
sucker  f ' 

"The  air-pump  is  the  cord,  the  cylinder  is  the 
leather,  and  the  chair  is  the  slab.  By  means  of  the 
air-pump,  the  air  in  the  cylinder  above  the  block, 
which  is  properly  called  a  piston,  is  gradually  re- 
moved. When  it  is  all  taken  away,  the  air  beneath 
the  piston  presses  it  upwards  with  a  force  of  fifteen 
pounds  for  every  square  inch  in  its  upper  surface. 
Now,  if  instead  of  putting  one  of  you  into  the  chair, 
we  put  in  weights,  we  shall  find  out  how  much  force 
the  air  beneath  the  piston  can  exert.  If  Harry  and 
Herbert  will  fetch  the  old  weights  from  the  store, 
house,  we  will  try  the  experiment." 

The  weights  were  soon  brought,  and  when  one 
hundred,  one  fifty,  and  two  fourteen-pound  weights 
were  put  into  the  chair,  the  whole  was  raised.  The 
addition  of  a  seven-pound  weight,  however,  made  the 
force  to  be  overcome  by  the  air  too  great.  The  chair 
slowly  descended,  and  the  amount  of  the  atmospheric 
force  was  properly  declared  to  be  about  one  hundred 
and  eighty  pounds. 

"  What  amount  of  surface  should  the  piston  present 
to  the  air,  to  justify  this  conclusion,  Harry  ?"  said  his 
father. 

"Twelve  inches  square,"  was  his  inconsiderate 
reply. 


302  HARRY'S  VACATION". 

"  Twelve  inches  square !  why,  Harry,  a  piston  of 
that  capacity  would  lift  a  ton !" 

"  He  means  twelve  square  inches,  papa,  I'm  sure," 
said  his  sister. 

"  Well,"  said  Harry,  "  what's  the  difference  be- 
tween them  ?" 

Amid  not  a  little  raillery,  our  impetuous  young 
hero  learned,  for  the  first  time,  that  although  there 
is  no  difference  between  a  square  inch  and  an  inch 
square,  thei-e  is,  upon  the  contrary,  a  vast  difference 
between  twelve  square  inches  and  twelve  inches 
square ! 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

The  Air-Pump — Harry  Made  Prisoner — Cupping — The  Fly's 
Foot— The  Barometer— The  Grand  Duke's  Well— Toricelli— 
Measuring  Heights. 

£(  rpHAT  is  a  very  beautiful  and  excellent  air 
J[  pump,  apparently,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle.  "  .1 
have  always  been  accustomed  to  the  old  form  of 
the  instrument,  with  two  barrels,  and  with  winch  and 
rack  work." 

"  I  have  one  of  them,  now,"  replied  Dr.  Sinclair, 
"  but  although  it  cost  me  twice  what  this  instrument 
did,  I  never  think  of  using  it.  This  is  a  Boston  pump, 
the  contrivance,  I  believe,  of  a  Mr.  Claxton.  The 
cylinder  moves  upon  the  piston,  and  is  worked  by  a 
single  lever.  It  has  the  advantage  of  the  old  pumps, 
too,  in  the  greater  simplicity  and  durability  of  the 
valves." 

Here  Dr.  Sinclair  entered  into  a  particular  ex- 
planation of  the  parts  of  the  air-pump,  not  for  his 
excellent  and  learned  guest's  information,  but  for  the 
instruction  of  the  young  people  gathered  around  him. 
Having  finished  his  explanation,  he  pointed  out  to  the 
group,  a  visible  vapour  within  the  bell-glass,  which 
was  fastened  by  atmospheric  pressure  to  the  pump- 
plate. 


304  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  now  said, 

"  Do  you  recollect,  my  dear  sir,  the  beautiful  lines 
of  Darwin,  which  describe  the  operation  of  the  air- 
pump,  and  refer,  also,  to  the  singular  formation  of 
vapour,  you  have  just  shewn  us]" 

"  I  do  not  recall  them  to  mind,  at  this  moment, 
and  must  beg  of  you  to  refresh  my  memory,"  replied 
Dr.  Sinclair. 

"That  I  will  do  with  pleasure,  for  they  always 
struck  me  as  a  most  felicitous  proof  that  poetry  is 
not  essentially  divorced  from  any  subject,  ho\vever 
mechanical  it  may  be.  These  arc  the  verses: 

1  Now  as  in  brazen  pumps  the  pistons  move, 
The  membrane  valve  sustains  the  weight  above ; 
Stroke  after  stroke  the  gelid  vapours  fall, 
And  misty  dew-drops  dim  the  crystal  wall  ; 
Rare  and  more  rare  expands  the  fluid  thin, 
Till  silence  dwe?ls,  and  vacancy  within !' " 

"  They  are  very  fine  lines,  indeed,"  said  Dr.  Sin- 
clair, "and  beautifully  true  to  fact.  The  cold 
vapours,  the  growing  rarity  of  the  air,  the  extinction 
of  sound,  and  the  final  vacuum,  are  all  happily 
described." 

"Alice  has  been  telling  me,  papa,  that  you  can 
make  any  of  us  sensible  of  the  great  pressure  of  the 
air,"  said  Mary. 

"  Certainly,  Mary,  nothing  is  more  easy,"  said  her 
father.  He  took  a  glass  which  was  open  at  both 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  305 

ends,  and  placing  the  larger  mouth  of  it  upon  the 
plate  of  the  air-pump,  called  upon  Harry  to  close  the 
upper  orifice  with  the  palm  of  his  hand.  This  he 
could  just  manage  to  do,  and  while  he  was  pressing 
it  down,  he  suddenly  felt  himself  relieved  from  the 
necessity  of  doing  so,  for  his  hand  was  externally 
forced,  not  only  upon  the  cup,  but  almost  into  it, 
with  an  energy  which  made  him  fairly  shout  with 
mingled  wonder  and  terror. 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter,  Harry  ?"  said  Mr.  Old- 
buckle ;  "  your  hand  has  borne  the  pressure  of  tho 
atmosphere  a  long  time,  and  ought  to  be  used  to  it, 
now." 

"Ah!"  said  Harry,  as  he  looked  at  his  released 
hand,  upon  the  palm  of  which  there  was  a  bright  red 
ring,  "  but  I  never  knew  it  before !" 

"  Then  you  are  a  living  proof  of  the  adage — 

'"Where  ignorance  is  bliss,  'tis  folly  to  be  wise; ' " 

and  Mr.  Oldbuckle  added,  "  but  you  may  congratu- 
late yourself,  Harry,  that  it  was  not  your  head 
instead  of  your  hand,  or  certainly  you  would  have 
liad  a  fractured  skull." 

All  the  party  now  tried  the  experiment,  persuaded 
successively  by  William  Sinclair,  who  told  them  that 
the  weight  of  the  atmosphere  was  one  of  those  extra- 
ordinary facts  in  science  which  required  to  be  pressed 
into  every  one's  consciousness.  For  his  own  part, 
he  laid  his  cheek  upon  the  mouth  of  the  glass,  and 


306  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

then  working  the  pump  slowly,  he  fastened  himself 
to  it,  and  his  cheek  was  seen  projecting  below  the 
thick  rim  of  the  glass.  When  he  released  himself, 
there  was  still  a  swelling  upon  his  cheek,  with  traces 
of  the  blood  which  had  been  forced  to  the  surface  by 
the  internal  pressure  of  the  air. 

"This,"  said  Gertrude,  "is  an  illustration,  I  can 
see  clearly,  of  the  process  of  cupping,  of  which  1 
have  such  an  intense  horror. " 

"And  yet,  my  dear  Miss  Vivian,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair, 
"  it  is  not  such  a  very  painful  process,  after  all.  Tho 
action  of  the  cup  is  less  violent  than  that  of  this 
glass,  and  the  spring  lancet  does  its  work  in  an  instant; 
when  it  is  all  over." 

"  Will  you  pardon  me,  my  dear  sir,"  said  Gertrude, 
with  an  arch  smile,  "  if  I  have  the  effrontery  to  con- 
fess, in  your  presence,  that  I  am  a  convert  to  the  new 
school  of  Homoeopathy,  which,  you  know,  abjures  all 
manner  of  blood-letting  ?" 

"If  I  were  a  practising  physician,"  was  the 
Doctor's  reply,  "  I  might  venture  to  argue  with  you, 
if  only  with  the  hope  of  securing  you  as  a  patient  of 
my  own." 

"I  should  not  prove  very  patient  under  either  mode 
of  treatment,  I  fancy,"  said  Gertrude. 

"  I  hope  sincerely, — since  I  am  not  in  the  practice, 
now — that  your  patience  will  not  be  put  to  the  proof 
very  soon." 

"  Thank  you  for  your  kind  wish,"  said  Gertrude ; 


PHILOSOPIiy   AT    HOME.  307 

"  and  now,  if  you  please,  tell  me  if  this  principle  of 
atmospheric  pressure  does  not  have  something  to  do 
with  a  fly's  ability  to  walk  upon  the  ceiling,  and  upon 
the  smooth  surface  of  glass  ?" 

"  It  has  been  frequently  stated,  and  is  perhaps  gen- 
erally believed,"  replied  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  that  the  cavity 
iu  a  fly's  foot,  between  the  two  pads  which  the  micro- 
scope reveals,  is  exhausted  of  air  by  the  muscular 
action  of  the  fly,  and  is  thus  pressed  against  the 
ceiling.  I  am  almost  reluctant  to  call  this  pretty 
theory  into  question  at  this  late  day,  but — " 

"  Surely,  my  dear  sir,  you  are  not  going  to  do  so 
with  your  'but'1?"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  with  a  per- 
plexed smile. 

"But,"  resumed  the  Doctor,  with  a  smile  without 
the  perplexity,  "  I  am  almost  obliged  to  do  so  by  my 
own  microscopic  observations,  which  lead  me  to  sup- 
pose that  this  atmospheric  action  of  the  fly's  foot  is  a 
myth,  and  that  the  fly's  foot  is  fastened  to  the  surfaces 
upon  which  it  walks,  by  a  delicate  gum  exuded  from 
these  pads  or  cushions.  Such  a  gum  is  discovered 
upon  them,  and  it  has  also  been  detected  upon  glass 
and  other  very  smooth  surfaces  traversed  by  the  fly." 

"  Really,  you  surprise  me  by  your  statement,"  said 
Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  Another  thing,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "which  gives 
force  to  this  modern  idea,  is  that  the  fly  is  always 
cleaning  its  feet,  as  if  to  brush  away  atoms  of  the  gum 
which  have  become  dry  and  obstruct  its  progress." 


308  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"I  must  confess,"  said  Miss  Vivian,  "that  there  is 
more  poetry,  if  less  philosophy,  in  the  atmospheric 
theory  of  the  fly's  locomotion,  and  I  am  inclined  to 
adhere  to  it  in  spite  of  Dr.  Sinclair's  microscope." 

"I  am  much  of  Gerty's  notion,"  said  Edward 
Vivian ;  "  besides,  if  we  give  up  the  atmospheric  prin- 
ciple in  the  case  of  the  fly,  who  knows  but  we  may 
be  called  upon  next  to  resign  it  in  the  case  of  the 
limpets,  who  are  now  supposed  to  cling  to  the  rocks 
by  means  of  these  natural  '  suckers'  ?" 

"I  will  not  quarrel  with  your  conclusion,  be  it 
•what  it  may,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair  ;  "  but  I  think  there 
is  a  great  difference  between  the  limpet,  which,  when 
touched,  fastens  itself  to  the  rock  by  an  air-cell,  and 
the  nimble-footed  fly,  which  would  have  to  exhaust 
and  refill  its  air  chambers  with  amazing  rapidity,  if 
it  did  so  at  every  step  it  takes  jilong  a  polished  sur- 
face,  whereas  one  emission  of  gum  would  last  it  a 
long  time  in  warm  weather." 

"  You  must  some  day  show  me  the  fly's  foot-pads 
and  this  curious  gum  which  issues  from  their  pores," 
said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  and  then,  perhaps,  I  shall  resign 
my  air-drawn  theory." 

"  That  it  will  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  do,"  was 
his  host's  reply;  and  then,  turning  to  Herbert,  ho 
asked  him  if  he  knew  the  meaning  of  the  term, 
barometer. 

Herbert's  etymology  was  here  at  fault,  and  so  Dr. 
Sinclair  explained  the  term  as  derived  from  the 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  809 

Greek,  and  signifying  a  weight  measure,  but  applied 
now  exclusively  to  the  instrument  used  for  measur- 
ing the  weight  or  density  of  the  atmosphere.  He 
then  took  down  a  barometer,  which  hung  in  the 
library,  and  opening  the  lower  part  of  the  case, 
showed  the  young  people  the  manner  of  its  construc- 
tion. It  was  a  glass  tube  sealed  at  the  top,  but  bent 
near  the  bottom  into  a  little  cup.  The  tube  was 
about  three  feet  long,  and  was  filled  to  the  height  of 
nearly  thirty  inches  with  mercury,  or,  as  it  is  more 
commonly  called,  quicksilver.  Mary  wondered  why  the 
heavy  fluid  did  not  all  descend  into  the  cup  and  over- 
flow it,  and  there  were  others  who  felt  the  same  sur- 
prise. Dr.  Sinclair  reminded  them  of  the  experi- 
ment in  the  laboratory  when  the  water  stood  up  in 
the  tall  bell-glass,  which  was  open  at  the  bottom,  and 
told  them  that  both  results  were  produced  by  precisely 
the  same  cause — the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere. 

He  then  asked  Alice  if  she  remembered  who 
invented  the  barometer,  and  thus  first  measured  the 
weight  of  the  air. 

"  I  believe,  papa,  it  was  a  pupil  of  Galileo,  but  I 
have  forgotten  his  name,"  was  Alice's  reply. 

"  Toricelli,"  said  her  brother ;  "  wasn't  it,  Ally  ]" 
"  Yes,  that  is  the  name  ;  thank  you,  dear  Willie." 
"  Did  you  never  hear  the  story  of  the  Grand 
Duke's  Well,  Alice?"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  I  do  not  think  I  have,  sir ;  will  you  be  kind 

enough  to  tell  it  to  m'e  ?"  said  Alice. 
14 


310  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"The  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,"  continued  Mr, 
Oldbuckle,  "  had  ordered  a  pump  to  be  sunk  in  some 
part  of  his  pleasure-grounds,  and  was  superintend- 
ing the  work  himself,  when  the  workmen  having 
introduced  the  log-tubes  to  a  depth  of  over  forty 
feet,  reported  to  him  that  the  water  did  not  rise  tc 
the  top  of  the  logs  by  several  feet.  He  was  per- 
plexed, and  related  the  circumstance  to  Galileo,  of 
whom  he  sought  an  explanation  of  the  wonder. 
Galileo's  predecessors  in  philosophy  had  taught  the 
dogma,  that  '  Nature  abhorred  a  vacuum,'  and  hence 
when  the  piston  made  one  in  the  pump-log,  the  water 
rushed  up  to  fill  it.  Galileo  did  not  adopt  this 
ridiculous  theory,  but  believed  that  the  water  rose  in 
the  log,  on  account  of  some  attraction  existing 
between  the  piston  and  the  fluid.  When,  therefore, 
he  found  that  the  water  refused  to  rise  in  the  Grand 
Duke's  pump  higher  than  thirty-four  feet,  he  con- 
cluded that,  at  that  height,  the  weight  of  the  water 
overcame  the  attraction  of  the  piston.  This  explana- 
tion satisfied  his  noble  patron  better  than  it  did  one 
of  his  most  intelligent  pupils,  a  young  man  named 
Toricelli.  He  pondered  the  circumstances  a  long 
time,  and  soon  after  he  left  the  school  of  Galileo,  it 
occurred  to  him  that  the  water  must  have  rested  at 
the  height  of  thirty-four  feet  in  the  pump-logs,  because 
there  the  force  which  raised  it,  was  precisely  balanced 
by  the  weight  of  the  column.  He  immediately  insti 
tuted  experiments  with  quicksilver  in  a  glass  tube, 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  31 A 

and  reasoned  that  if  there  was  such  a  force  at  all 
operating  on  the  water  of  the  well,  it  would  also  sus- 
tain a  column  of  quicksilver,  at  a  height  as  much  less 
than  that  of  the  water  column,  as  the  weight  of  the 
former  exceeded  that  of  the  latter.  He  tried  the 
experiment,  and  found  it  to  be  just  as  he  thought. 
He  filled  a  glass  tube,  three  feet  long,  with  quicksilver, 
and  then  covering  the  orifice  with  his  finger,  plunged 
it  into  a  cup  of  the  same  fluid.  To  his  great  delight, 
he  saw  the  quicksilver,  after  rising  and  falling  sev- 
eral times  in  the  tube,  stand  still  at  the  height  of 
twenty-nine  inches.  Then  he  concluded,  instantly, 
that  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  upon  the  quick- 
silver in  the  cup  was  the  force  which  kept  it  up  in 
the  tube,  and  that  the  weight  of  his  column  of  quick- 
silver must  be  the  exact  counterpoise  of  a  column 
of  air  of  the  same  diameter,  and  of  the  whole 
height  of  the  atmosphere.  Toricelli  was  right,  and 
his  beautiful  experiment  showed  conclusively  why 
the  water  did  not  rise  all  the  way  up  the  pump-log. 
It  proved  that  a  column  of  quicksilver,  twenty-nine 
inches  high,  is  just  the  weight  of  a  similar  sized  co- 
lumn of  water,  thirty-four  feet  high,  and  that  the  ex- 
ternal pressure  of  the  air  is  just  equal  to  balance 
either  of  them,  and  no  more  in  any  case." 

Alice  thanked  Mr.  Oldbuckle  for  his  entertaining 
history  of  the  barometer,  which  Herbert  and  Harry 
both  declared  made  the  matter  perfectly  plain  to 
them. 


312  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  But  what  are  those  marks  and  figures  upor.  the 
frame  of  the  barometer  for  ?y  said  Harry. 

"  Those,"  said  his  father,  "  indicate  the  changes  of 
the  barometer,  with  the  changes  in  the  state  of  the 
atmosphere.  When  the  air  is  quite  dry,  it  has  the 
greatest  weight,  and  keeps  the  quicksilver  at  nearly 
thirty  inches,  from  which  it  falls  as  low  as  twenty- 
seven  inches  in  very  wet  weather,  when  the  air  is 
much  lighter." 

"  I  think  the  best  use  of  the  barometer  on  land," 
said  Edward  Vivian,  "  is  to  measure  the  height  of 
mountains." 

"  How  can  you  do  that  with  the  barometer  ?"  said 
Harry. 

"  By  noticing  the  diminished  height  of  the  column 
as  you  ascend  into  the  air.  The  quicksilver  is  found  to 
fall  half  an  inch  for  every  five  hundred  feet  of  eleva- 
tion ;  so,  if  you  were  to  take  the  barometer  to  the  top 
of  a  high  mountain,  hitherto  unmeasured,  and  the 
quicksilver  fell  five  inches,  you  would  know  at  once 
that  its  height  was  five  thousand  feet.  I  ought  to 
add,  however,  that  this  rule  is  not  strictly  correct ; 
for,  although  the  quicksilver  falls  half  an  inch  for  the 
first  five  hundred  feet,  it  falls  a  fraction  less  for  every 
successive  five  hundred;  and  very  accurate  measure- 
ment, by  this  method,  requires  the  use  of  particular 
formula." 

"  What  an  easy  way  to  ascertain  heights !"  said 
Miss  Vivian ;  "and  though  I  never  thought  of  it  before. 


riUlOSOPHT   AT    HOME.  315 

I  suppose  this  is  the  way  in  which  the  elevation 
reached  by  balloons  is  ascertained1?" 

"  Even  so,  Gerty,"  said  her  brother,  "  and  you  will 
have  to  thank  Dr.  Sinclair,  as  well  as  all  these  young 
pupils  of  his,  for  much  pleasing  and  valuable  know- 
ledge." 

"  I  wish  I  never  had  a  more  unpleasant  task  to 
perform  than  to  do  that,"  was  her  earnest  reply.  "  1 
do  thank  him  with  all  my  heart." 

"  And  never  was  any  one  more  happy  to  impart 
such  information,"  said  her  gratified  host. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

More  Philosophy  for  Miss  Vivian— The  Laboratory — Empty  Jars- 
Oxygen — The  Magic  Taper — Combustion— Burning  a  Watch- 
spring —  Oxyd  of  Steel  —  Sparkling  Carbon  —  Carbonic  Acid 
Gaa — The  Grotto  del  Cane — The  Martyred  Mouse. 

U  A  S  y°u  insist  upon  leaving  us  to-morrow  morning, 
J\.  my  dear  Miss  Vivian,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair  to 
his  fair  young  guest,  as  she  entered  the  library, 
after  tea,  "  I  think  I  shall  trouble  you  with  a  little 
more  philosophy,  before  you  go.  I  wish  you  to  take 
away  only  brilliant  memories  of  Beechwood,  and  I 
have  been  preparing,  during  the  afternoon,  for  a  family 
lecture  upon  oxygen.  Is  it  your  pleasure  that  it 
shall  be  given  to-night  ?" 

"  Ah !  Dr.  Sinclair,"  said  Gertrude,  with  a  smile  of 
unaffected  delight,  "  you  are  resolved  to  make  my 
departure  as  painful  as  possible,  by  multiplying  the 
charms  of  your  happy  home." 

"  That  we  may  the  sooner  win  you  back  to  it,  my 
dear  Gertrude,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair. 

"  Oh  !  Gertrude,"  said  Alice,  "  do  stay  until  Satur- 
day, the  end  of  the  vacation." 

"  I  can  not,  dear  Alice,"  was  Gertrude  Vivian's 
reply ;  "  for  Edward's  vacation  also  expires  on  Satur- 
day, and  there  is  duty  to  be  performed  at  home. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  315 

But  I  shall  carry  with  me  quite  as  delightful  memories 
of  Beechwood  as  your  kind  papa  and  mamma  could 
wish." 

"  But  you  have  not  told  me,  after  all,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair,  assuming  a  look  of  perplexity,  "  if  I  shall 
attempt  to  entertain  you  with  philosophy  to-night, 
or  not." 

"  Pardon  me,  dear  sir,"  she  replied  gaily,  "  I 
thought  I  had  already  manifested  my  delight  at  your 
proposal.  By  all  means,  philosophy  to-night,  if  I 
may  speak  for  the  rest." 

"  Well,  Herbert,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  I  shall  try 
what  I  can  do,  to-night,  in  the  way  of  burning  ten- 
penny  nails  for  matches !" 

Herbert  remembered  Dr.  Sinclair's  promise  to 
that  effect,  and -replied  that  he  was  impatient  to  see 
the  wonder. 

"  I  shall  have  to  invite  you  all  down  stairs,"  said 
Dr.  Sinclair,  "  for  I  can  not  very  well  make  experi- 
ments with  oxygen  in  this  room." 

"  Oh !"  said  Alice,  "  I  love  to  go  into  the  laboratory. 
It  is  such  a  queer  place,  and  has  so  many  queer  tilings 
things  about  it." 

The  party  now  went  down  into  the  laboratory, 
which  was  beneath  the  library,  and  of  the  same 
dimensions,-; except  in  height.  It  was  comfortably 
fitted  up,  and  a  large  fire  blazing,  upon  the  hearth, 
shed  light  and  warmth  over  it. 

Upon  one  of  the  two  tables  which  extended  through 


316  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

it,  there  were  several  jars  and  bell-glasses,  standing 
inverted,  with  their  mouths  in  plates  containing  water. 
These  Dr.  Sinclair  cautioned  them  not  to  upset  as 
they  contained,  he  "told  them,  the  oxygen  gas,  which 
he  had  prepared  for  experiments. 

"  Why,  papa,"  said  Fanny,  "  I  can  not  see  any 
thing  in  the  glass  jars." 

"  There  is  something  there,  nevertheless,  my  little 
girl,  and  though  you  may  not  see  it,  you  will  believe 
it,  by  and  by." 

Fanny  looked  still  more  closely  at  the  glasses,  but 
they  seemed  to  her  to  be  quite  empty. 

"  The  term  oxygen,  Herbert,  do  you  know  its  ety- 
mology ?" 

"  I  do  not,  sir,"  he  replied. 

"  Like  the  term  hydrogen,  it  is  from  the  Greek, 
o.tws,  acid  and  yennao,  to  make ;  oxygen,  therefore, 
signifies  to  make  acid,  and  when  the  name  was  first 
employed,  it  was  thought  that  every  acid  contained 
oxygen.  Though  this  is  not  the  case,  the  name  is 
still  the  best  which  can  be  given  to  this  element." 

"Was  it  not  once  called  vital  air,  papa?"  said 
Alice. 

"  It  was,  my  daughter,  and  considering  its  relations 
to  all  kinds  of  life,  the  name  was  natural  enough." 

"To  whom  do  you  attribute  the  discovery  of 
this  element,  Dr.  Sinclair  ?"  inquired  Mr.  Oldbucklc. 

"  The  first  discovery  of  it  was  certainly  made  by 
Dr.  Priestley,  of  England,  though  Scheele,  of  Sweden, 


PHILOSOPHY    *r   HOME.  317 

and  Lavoisier,  of  France,  both  afterwards  discovered 
it,  without  a  knowledge  of  Dr.  Priestley's  observa- 
tions." 

"  It  was  certainly  a  wonderful  discovery,"  resumed 
Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "and  opened  a  new  world  to  the 
chemist." 

"  Yes,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair, "  the  discovery  of  oxygen 
gave  new  names  to  many  things,  and  led  to  many 
vast  results." 

"  I  have  not  had  much  experience  hi  the  labora- 
tory," said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "a'hd  shall  be  glad  to 
know  how  you  obtain  oxygen.  I  believe  the  old 
process  was  to  heat  manganese  in  an  iron  bottle." 

"  That  is  still  a  common  process,  I  believe,"  replied 
Dr.  Sinclair;  "  but  no  one  who  is  well-read  in  modern 
chemistry  would  resort  to  it  at  this  day.  It  is  a 
tedious  method,  and  yields  a  gas  of  uncertain  quality. 
There  are  two  far  better  methods  of  procuring  the 
gas.  One  is  to  heat  to  dull  redness,  in  a  copper  flask, 
the  chlorate  of  potash;  and  a  still  more  simple  one  is 
to  employ  the  same  substance,  mixed  with  manganese, 
in  a  green  glass  flask,  heated  over  a  spirit-lamp.  By 
this  process,  I  have  to-day  obtained  a  quantity  of  the 
pure  gas." 

"Are  those  the.  only  substances  that  contain  oxygen, 
sir  ?"  inquired  Herbert. 

"  No,  my  dear  boy ;  it  is  found  in  a  vast  number 
of  substances,  and  is  the  most  widely  diffused  of  all 
i.he  elementary  bodies." 


318  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

"I  believe,  sir,"  said  William  Sinclair,  "that  it 
constitutes  about  one  third  part  by  weight,  of  nearly 
all  known  matter,  does  it  not?" 

"You  have  understated  rather  than  overstated  its 
proportion  to  the  entire  mass  of  our  globe,"  said  his 
father,  "  for  it  composes  nearly  one  third  of  its  solid 
crust,  eight  ninths  of  all  the  water,  and  one  fifth  of 
the  atmosphere." 

"I  thought  you  said  the  other  day,  sir,  that  it 
constituted  one  third  of  the  bulk  of  water,"  said 
Herbert. 

"  I  am  gratified  that  you  are  so  mindful  of  my 
words,  Herbert,  as  not  to  mistake  them.  I  did  say 
one  third  the  other  day,  but  recollect  that  it  was  one 
third  of  the  bulk.  It  is  sixteen  times  heavier  than 
the  other  element  of  water,  and  hence  by  weight,  it 
constituted  eight  ninths  of  the  water  of  the  globe." 

"  What  a  very  extraordinary  fact  it  is,"  said  Mr. 
Oldbuckle,  "  that  nearly  the  whole  weight  of  water 
consists  of  that  which  supports  fire !" 

"And  the  wonder  is  increased,"  added  Dr.  Sinclair, 
"  when  we  remember  what  was  also  mentioned  the 
other  day,  that  the  remaining  ninth  part  of  water  is 
the  most  inflammable  substance  in  nature." 

"  I  seem  to  see,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  a  new  sig- 
nificance in  the  words  of  Scripture,  'The  elements 
shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  the  earth,  also,  and  the 
works  that  are  therein  shall  be  burnt  up.'  Chemistry 
teaches  us  that  a  vast  part  of  the  whole  earth  is  highly 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  819 

combustible,  and  the  still  greater  portion  of  it,  suited 
to  support  and  quicken  combustion.  How  simple 
and  natural  does  the  prediction  appear  in  th:s  light, 
and  how  terrible  will  that  great  conflagration  be !" 

"  I  have  often  reflected,  my  dear  friend,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair,  "  upon  this  theme,  and  it  is,  as  you  say,  a 
very  significant  one.  But  we  must  not  keep  our 
young  philosophers  waiting,  too  long,  for  the  sights, 
which  have  as  yet  more  charm  for  them  than  the 
speculations  of  science." 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  took  one  of  the  smaller  jars,  which 
he  had  filled  with  oxygen,  and  carefully  restoring  it 
to  its  upright  position,  he  quickly  removed  the  plate, 
and  substituted  a  light  cover  of  card. 

"  Would  the  gas  escape,  papa,  if  you  were  not  to 
keep  the  jar  covered1?"  inquired  Alice. 

"  I  see  that  you  think  it  ought  not  to  do  so,  Alice," 
replied  her  father. 

"  Not  if  it  is  heavier  than  the  atmosphere,"  in- 
sisted Alice. 

"  In  a  quiet  room  it  would  not  escape,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair,  "  but  here  there  is  so  much  agitation  of  the 
air  by  our  motion  and  breathing,  and  so  much  varia- 
tion of  temperature  and  density,  that  there  is  a  prob- 
ability of  the  oxygen's  becoming  partially  mingled 
with  the  air.  The  oxygen  is  heavy  enough,  however, 
to  be  poured  from  one  vessel  into  another,  like 
water." 

He  now  took  a  lighted  piece  of  wax  taper,  fastened 


320  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

into  a  ring  at  the  end  of  a  piece  of  wire,  and  having 
blown  it  out  suddenly,  he  plunged  it,  while  there  was 
yet  a  spark  upon  the  wick,  into  the  jar  of  oxygen 
before  him.  With  an  audible  report,  the  taper  sud- 
denly burst  into  a  vivid  flame,  and  burned  with 
unwonted  brilliancy.  Withdrawing  the  taper,  he 
blew  it  out  again,  and  again  plunged  it  into  the  jar, 
when  the  same  result  followed.  Three  or  four  times 
he  repeated  the  experiment,  until,  at  length,  the  taper 
was  not  relighted  in  the  jar.  This  failure  astonished 
the  young  people  as  much  as  the  first  success  did, 
until  Dr.  Sinclair  told  them  that  the  repeated  kindling 
and  burning  of  the  taper,  together  with  the  heat  of 
the  process,  had  consumed  and  dissipated  all  the 
oxygen  which  was  in  the  jar. 

"  That  is  a  very  beautiful  experiment,  indeed,  Dr. 
Sinclair,"  said  Miss  Vivian ;  "  it  seemed  almost 
magical." 

"  It  would  have  been  accounted  s »  in  old  times, 
doubtless,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  I  do  not  understand  it,  sir,"  said  Harry  ;  "  what 
lighted  the  candle?" 

"  You  noticed  the  spark  which  still  glowed  upon 
the  cotton  wick  of  the  taper,  did  you  not,  Harry  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  and  I  saw  it  flash  brightly  the  moment 
it  went  into  the  jar." 

"  Well,  then,  my  boy,  you  shall  learn  something 
new  about  combustion,  which  is  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  a  combination  of  some  substance  with  this 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  321 

very  element,  called  oxygen.  There  may  be  com 
bustion  without  fire,  or  smoke  either.  You  must 
know  that  a  vast  number  of  substances  have  a  great 
lildng  for  oxygen — the  chemists  call  it  affinity — and 
they  are  always  ready  to  unite  with  it.  Iron  likes 
oxygen,  but  it  can  not  unite  with  it  when  both  are 
dry.  If  either  of  them  is  wet,  then  they  unite,  and 
the  oxygon  turns  that  part  of  the  iron  with  which  it 
is  united,  into  what  we  call  rust,  but  what  chemists 
call  oxyd  of  iron.  The  process  is  combustion  of  one 
kind.  Other  substances  like  oxygen,  also,  but  can  not 
unite  with  it  except  at  very  high  degrees  of  heat. 
The  carbon  of  v/ood,  or  cotton,  or  coal,  is  eager  for 
oxygen,  but  it  must  be  raised  to  a  very  high  temper- 
ature before  it  can  combine  with  it.  This  may  be 
done  by  several  methods,  as  by  bringing  the  sun's 
rays  directly  upon  it  by  a  convex  glass,  by  employ- 
ing friction  as  travellers  often  do,  by  a  discharge  of 
electricity,  by  chemical  mixtures,  and  by  applying  an 
inflamed  body  to  it.  The  last  is  the  common  method. 
The  moment  the  substance  is  hot  enough  for  the  heat 
to  be  visible  to  the  eye,  it  attracts  the  oxygen 
furiously,  and  burns  until  it  is  consumed  itself,  or  all 
the  oxygen  is  exhausted.  After  this  long  speech, 
you  will  be  pleased  to  see  a  very  beautiful  experi- 
ment which  bears  directly  upon  the  subject." 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  placed  before  him  a  large  glass 
bottle,  which  stood  in  a  plate  containing  water.  The 
bottle  had  no  bottom,  but  a  cork  was  fitted  tightly  in 


322  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

Its  neck.  It  was  full  of  oxygen  gas,  as  nearly  pure 
as  it  oould  be  obtained.  He  now  called  the  attention 
of  the  young  people  to  a  watch-spring  which  he  had 
twisted  into  the  shape  of  a  cork-screw,  and  fastened 
into  a  cork.  Upon  the  lower  end  of  the  spiral,  he 
had  wound  a  fragment  of  thread,  and  dipped  it  in 
melted  sulphur. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  that  cork-screw, 
papa  ?"  said  Fanny. 

"  Burn  it  all  up,  Fanny,"  said  her  father. 

Fanny's  little  head  shook  with  incredulity,  but  she 
said  nothing  more ;  and  the  Doctor,  removing  the  cork 
of  the  jar  with  one  hand,  with  the  other  ignited  the 
end  of  the  spring,  and  then  plunged  it  into  the  jar 
of  the  gas.  The  effect  was  very  beautiful,  and  to 
nearly  all  the  group,  quite  surprising.  William 
Sinclair  had  darkened  the  lamp,  and  yet  the  room 
was  light  with  the  dazzling  brilliance  of  the  jar.  It 
was  full  of  the  most  radiant  sparks,  and  a  very  bright 
bead  of  light  was  rising  gradually  up  the  watch-spring. 

"  Yes !"  said  Harry,  after  a  close  inspection,  "  Yes, 
I  declare,  Herbert,  the  watch-spring  is  a-fire,  and  it 
will  all  burn  up !" 

"  What  do  you  think  is  the  prospect  for  the  ten 
penny  nail,  eh,  Herbert1?"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  amused 
at  the  wonder  which  was  depicted  on  the  face  of  his 
young  guest. 

"  I  am  quite  willing  to  believe  that  you  can  burn 
it,  sir,"  said  Herbert, 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  J)23 

"  You  shall  believe,  now,  and  see,  by  and  by." 

When  the  brilliance  died  away,  the  interior  of  the 
jar  was  covered  with  a  yellowish  crust,  and  the  frag, 
ment  of  the  steel  spiral  was  also  very  rusty  in 
appearance.  Dr.  Sinclair  told  Herbert  that  this  was 
the  oxyd  of  steel. 

"What  became  of  all  the  oxygen,  sir1?"  said 
Herbert. 

"  It  all  entered  into  the  steel ;  and  if  we  were  to 
collect  the  pieces  of  melted  steel  which  fell — " 

"  See !"  said  Harry,  "  two  of  them  are  burned  into 
the  plate !" 

"  If,"  continued  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  we  should  collect  all 
and  weigh  them  with  the  unconsumed  part,  we  should 
find  its  weight  increased  by  just  the  weight  of  the 
oxygen  consumed." 

"  That  is  a  most  interesting  fact,"  said  Miss  Vivian, 
u  and  I  am  curious  to  know  more  about  this  gas." 

"  I  will  burn  a  piece  of  fine  iron  wire  in  this  next 
jar,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  taking  in  his  hand  a  spiral 
wire  attached  to  a  cork.  He  introduced  it,  and  it 
burned  with  intense  rapidity,  but  threw  out  very  few 
sparks. 

"  Why  did  it  not  scintillate,  like  the  watch-spring1?" 
inquired  Gertrude. 

"The  very  question  I  supposed  some  one  would 
ask,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "and  I  will  answer  it  by 
asking  you  another,  Miss  Vivian :  what  is  made  use 
of  to  convert  iron  into  steel  ?" 


324  HARRY'S  VACATION  \  OR, 

"  Charcoal,  sir,"  said  Gertrude. 

"  And  it  is  the  charcoal — the  carbon,  rather — of 
the  steel  spring,  that  outsparkles  the  pure  iron. 
Here,"  he  added,  "  is  a  piece  of  fine  charcoal,  prepared 
from  box-wood  on  account  of  its  hardness,  which  I 
shall  now  expose  to  an  atmosphere  of  oxygen." 

He  plunged  it  into  a  jar  of  the  gas,  but  it  did  not 
take  fire,  and  indeed,  remained  as  black  as  ever. 
The  young  people  looked  perplexed,  but  in  a  moment 
Alice  exclaimed : 

"  Oh !  papa,  you  are  puzzling  us.  You  did  not 
raise  the  temperature  of  the  charcoal  before  you  put 
it  in  the  gas." 

"  You  are  quite  right,  Alice.  I  will  repair  my 
error,"  said  her  father,  withdrawing  the  charcoal, 
which  he  immediately  held  in  the  flame  of  a  candle, 
until  there  was  a  faint  spark  upon  one  angle. 

"  Will  that  do,  Ally,  think  you  ?"  he  asked. 

"  Yes,  papa,  I  have  faith  in  you  to  believe  it  will !" 

The  slight  spark  had  no  sooner  touched  the  oxygen 
than  it  grew  brilliant,  and  instantly  spread  over  the 
whole  piece,  which  glowed  like  a  bright  star,  while 
the  jar  was  completely  filled  with  a  shower  of  sparks, 
which  elicited  the  admiration  of  all.  In  a  few 
moments,  it  grew  dim,  and  went  out. 

"  Is  all  the  oxygen  consumed,  sir  T  said  Gertrude. 

"Converted,  rather,  my  dear  Miss  Vivian,  into 
another  gas.  Both  the  carbon  and  oxygen  have 
changed  form,  and  the  united  product  is  carbonic  acid 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  325 

gt»->,  of  wliich  I  can  only  say,  very  briefly,  that  it  is 
destructive  to  animal  life.  It  is  called  'fixed  air,' 
because  its  great  weight  makes  it  settle  in  mines,  and 
pits,  and  wells." 

"  Oh !  is  that  the  air  which  is  found  in  the  Grotto 
del  Cane,  in  Italy  1"  said  Gertrude. 

"That  is  it,  and  the  reason  why  only  dogs  fall  vic- 
tims to  it,  is  that  the  stratum  of  the  gas  is  just  deep 
enough  to  reach  their  noses,  while  men  breathe  the 
good  air  of  the  cave  above  it." 

Dr.  Sinclair  illustrated  his  remarks  about  carbonic 
acid  gas,  by  taking  a  live  mouse,  which  was  confined 
at  the  end  of  a  piece  of  wire,  and  introducing  it  sud- 
denly into  the  jar  where  the  carbon  had  been  con- 
sumed.  In  a  very  few  moments,  the  mouse  almost 
ceased  the  struggle  which  he  had  been  hitherto  mak 
big  to  escape  from  his  bonds. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

The  Resuscitation — Too  Much  of  a  Good  Thing- -Atmospheric 
Air — Supply  of  Oxygen — Producing  an  Alkali — Fire  from  Ice — 
The  Mock  Sun — Sulphurous  Acid — The  Compound  Blow-pipe — 
Burning  a  Ten-penny  Nail — The  Drummond  Light — The  Bude 
Lamp — A  Feu,  de  Jole. 

f(  TT^OOR  mousey!"  said  Fanny.  "Papa,  wasn't 
it  cruel  to  kill  the  little  mouse  1" 

"Are  you  quite  sure  it  is  dead,  Fan  ?'  said  her 
father,  as  he  withdrew  it  from  the  jar  of  carbonic 
acid  gas,  and,  the  next  instant,  put  it  into  another  jar 
filled  with  pure  oxygen 

"  Oh !  look !  look !  Alice,"  said  Herbert,  and  Harry 
reechoed  the  exclamation,  while  all  the  group  gathered 
closer  around  the  jar,  when,  to  the  amazement  and 
delight  of  all,  the  mouse  triis  once  more  making 
violent  muscular  efforts,  and  "  yawning,"  as  Fanny 
said,  with  desperate  earnestness. 

"  '  Vita  ex  articulo  mortis?  "  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  Truly,"  replied  Edward  Vivian,  "  it  is  life  in 
death." 

Every  one  pronounced  it  wonderful,  but  before  the 
exclamations  had  ceased,  Dr.  Sinclair  had  removed 
the  mouse  from  the  jar,  and  considering  his  freedom 
fairly  won  by  his  martyrdom,  he  set  him  free  with  no 
other  injury  than  a  wet  coat.  As  he  scampered  off, 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  327 

Mary  asked  her  father  why  he  did  not  sufter  him  to 
remain  longer  in  the  jar  ? 

"  Because  I  did  not  wish  to  kill  him,  Mary,"  her 
father  icplied. 

"  Why,  papa,  that  made  him  alive  again  !"  per- 
sisted  Mary. 

"And  he  would  soon  have  died  from  excess  of  life, 
my  child,  if  I  had  not  removed  him." 

"And  he  would  have  furnished  us  a  melancholy 
proof,"  said  Edward  Vivian,  "  that  one  may  have 
'  too  much  of  a  good  thing.'  " 

"  That  is  quite  above  me,"  said  Harry,  shaking  his 
head. 

"  Oxygen,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  is  the  great  sup- 
porter of  life,  as  we  know ;  and,  as  you  have  just 
seen,  it  will  sometimes  restore  the  dead  to  life ;  but 
He  who  made  it,  and  put  it  in  the  atmosphere,  mixed 
it  with  four  times  as  much  of  another  gas,  which  has 
no  power  to  support  life  or  to  sustain  combustion. 
This  other  gas  is  called  nitrogen,  and  its  only  use  in 
the  atmosphere  is  to  dilute  the  oxygen  and  make  it 
fit  for  our  lungs  and  for  combustion.  If  we  had  only 
pure  oxygen  to  breathe,  with  our  present  systems, 
we  should  not  live  long.  We  should  die  in  violent 
excitement.  A  fire,  once  kindled,  would  continue  tc 
burn  until  every  thing  was  consumed.  If  we  could 
imagine  such  a  thing  as  an  atmosphere  of  pure 
oxygen  for  a  single  day,  what  a  wonderful  sight 
there  would  be  presented  upon  the  earth.  Men  and 


328  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

leasts  would  be  crazy  with  excitement  and  passion ; 
stoves  and  furnaces  and  steam-engines  would  all  tako 
fire  from  the  fuel  within  them,  and  the  burning  would 
not  cease  until  the  globe  was  consumed." 

"  May  a  kind  Providence  preserve  us  from  such  a 
catastrophe  !"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  truth,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  that  the 
proportion  of  oxygen  in  the  atmosphere  never  varies. 
It  is  the  same  in  the  valley  that  it  is  upon  the  moun- 
tain-top, the  same  in  the  hospital  that  it  is  in  the 
street." 

"  How  is  it,  then,  that  the  atmosphere  becomes  cor- 
rupted and  unfit  for  respiration  ?"  said  Miss  Vivian. 

"  It  is  made  so  by  the  substitution  of  foreign  gasec 
for  much  of  the  volume  of  the  atmosphere.  The 
foulest  air  of  a  crowded  hall  contains  one  part  of 
oxygen  for  every  four  of  nitrogen  by  bulk,  though 
carbonic  acid  gas  and  other  vapours  may  constitute 
the  greater  volume  of  the  air  in  the  room,  and  these 
are  irrespirable." 

"  I  think  I  understand  perfectly  your  explanation," 
said  Gertrude. 

"  There  is  one  thing  more  to  notice  here,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair,  "  and  it  is,  that  no  other  proportions  of  these 
elements  will  unite  to  form  atmospheric  air.  Two 
fifths  of  oxygen  with  three  fifths  of  nitrogen  make 
the  exhilarating  gas  which  intoxicates  those  who 
inhale  it,  and  would  destroy  life  if  breathed  for  a  long 
time." 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  329 

"  What  a  wonderful  proof  of  design  in  the  crea 
tion  of  the  atmosphere  this  fact  affords,"  said  Mr 
Oldbuckle. 

"I  wonder,  very  much,"  said  Edward  Vivian, 
"  that  more  use  is  not  made  of  oxygen  in  cases  of 
suspended  animation  from  foul  air,  drowning,  and 
other  causes." 

"  I  have  always  believed,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  that 
if  oxygen  could  be  administered  promptly  in  such 
cases,  it  would  produce  magical  results." 

"  Why  could  it  not  be  so  administered,  sir  ?"  said 
Gertrude. 

"There  are  two  principal  reasons,"  replied  Dr. 
Sinclair ;  "  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  it  except  in 
a  laboratory,  and  the  general  ignorance  of  all  such 
matters  among  those  who  have  to  deal  with  such 
cases  at  the  critical  moment." 

"  I  have  read  of  some  cases  in  which  oxygen  has 
been  administered  with  happy  results,"  said  Mr. 
Oldbuckle,  "  and  these  are  presumptive  evidence  of 
its  general  efficacy." 

"Papa,"  said  Alice,  "will  you  please  to  tell  me 
how  the  supply  of  oxygen  in  the  atmosphere  is  kept 
up  when  it  lias  to  support  such  a  vast  amount  of 
Jife  1" 

"  Your  question  is  a  very  reasonable  one,  Alice. 
It  is  estimated  that  a  man  consumes  twenty-five  gal- 
lons of  oxygen  every  hour,  and,  then,  it  is  required  in 
vast  quantities  for  combustion.  The  answer  to  your 


830  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

question  is  another  proof  of  design  in  creation,  and 
it  is  proof,  also,  that  the  Great  Designer  is  full  of 
benevolence.  While  the  animal  world  is  consuming 
oxygen,  Alice,  the  whole  vegetable  world  is  supplying 
it.  The  lungs  of  animals  convert  it  into  carbonic 
acid  gas,  which  is  destructive  to  animal  life,  but  by  a 
wonderful  provision  it  feeds  the  vegetable  world,  and 
the  cells  of  plants  re-convert  it  into  oxygen,  which  the 
plants  themselves  do  not  require.  If  you  will  gather 
some  mint,  or  other  vegetable  stems  next  spring,  and, 
having  put  them  into  a  bell-glass  filled  with  water 
and  inverted  in  a  plate,  place  the  whole  in  the  sun- 
shine, you  will  presently  see  little  sparkling  globules 
all  over  the  sprigs,  and  they  will  gradually  gather 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  bell,  displacing  the  water 
from  the  space  they  occupy.  They  will  be  found 
upon  examination  to  be  pure  oxygen  gas." 

"  Really  that  is  as  wonderful  as  it  is  beautiful," 
said  Gertrude.  "  How  charming  it  must  be  to  lean: 
all  such  valuable  truths  as  these  !" 

"I  have  shown  you,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "how 
oxygen  unites  with  iron  to  form  an  oxyd,  with  car- 
bon to  form  an  acid,  and  now  I  will  show  you  how 
it  unites  with  potassium  to  form  an  alkali,  which  is 
just  the  opposite  of  an  acid." 

He  took  from  a  small  bottle  a  piece  of  bluish  look- 
ing metal  which  he  put  into  a  pendent  spoon  attacheo 
to  a  wooden  cover.  Then  touching  the  potassium 
with  a  glass  rod  that  he  dipped  in  water,  it  suddenly 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  331 

Inflamed,  and  he  plunged  it  into  a  jar  of  oxygen.  Im- 
mediately a  rose-coloured  vapour  filled  the  jar,  which 
was  kept  very  bright  by  the  burning  metal.  It  did 
not  last  long,  and  when  Dr.  Sinclair  withdrew  the 
spoon  it  was  half-full  of  a  white  substance  which  he 
called  potash. 

"  But  do  tell  me,  papa,"  said  Alice,  "  how  the 
metal  which  you  call  potassium,  took  fire  when  you 
touched  it  with  the  wet  rod.  I  should  almost  as  soon 
think  of  dipping  a  candle  into  water  hi  order  to  light 
it!" 

"  I  do  not  wonder  at  your  surprise,  Alice,  which, 
however,  I  will  endeavour  to  remove  by  explaining 
to  you,  that  potassium  has  such  a  strong  affinity  to 
oxygen  that  it  will  take  it  from  any  substance  with 
which  it  is  combined.  Hence  it  is  necessary  to  keep 
it  hi  naphtha,  a  fluid  which  contains  no  oxygen.  When 
it  is  exposed  to  the  air,  it  rapidly  oxydizes,  and  even 
from  water  it  absorbs  oxygen  so  violently,  that  the 
heat  generated  sets  the  deserted  hydrogen  on  fire, 
and  the  volatilized  metal  tinges  the  flame  with  a 
violet  colour  as  you  saw." 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  directed  Harry  to  fetch  a  piece 
of  ice,  and  when  he  had  brought  it  in,  he  cut  a  hole 
in  it  with  his  penknife,  and  into  it  he  put  a  globule  of 
potassium,  which  immediately  burst  into  a  vivid 
flame,  and  consumed  rapidly,  while  hi  a  moment, 
the  cavity,  like  the  spoon  before,  was  half-full  of 
potash.  0 


332  HARRY'S  VACATION;  ox. 

One  of  the  glass  vessels  upon  the  table  was  a  globe 
with  a  broad  mouth  to  it,  in  which  was  fitted  a  cork. 
This  was  now  brought  forward,  and  again  William 
Sinclair  partially  darkened  the  room.  Dr.  Sinclair 
exhibited  to  the  young  people  a  sticlc  of  phosphorus 
glowing  in  the  darkness.  He  cut  off  a  portion  of  it, 
and  having  carefully  wiped  it  dry,  he  placed  it  in  the 
pendent  spoon  from  which  he  had  removed  the  pot- 
ash. The  spoon  was  fastened  to  a  cork  like  that  in 
the  mouth  of  the  glass  globe.  Dr.  Sinclair  now 
touched  the  phosphorus  with  a  hot  wire,  and  as  it 
began  to  burn,  he  introduced  it  into  the  globe.  The 
effect  was  so  dazzling  that  all  the  party  were  obliged 
to  shade  theii  eyes;  the  globe  glowed  like  an  artificial 
sun,  and  it  ssrerned,  for  a  few  moments,  as  if  so  much 
intense  splo  dour  must  produce  a  fearful  explosion. 
It  died  quietly  away,  however,  and  the  globe  re- 
mained full  of  dense  vapour,  as  white  as  snow,  which 
Dr.  Sinclair  said  was  the  vapour  of  phosphorous  acid. 

This  experiment  was  followed  by  another,  in  which 
sulphur  was  burned  in  oxygen,  with  a  deep  violet- 
coloured  flame  and  dense  clouds  of  vapour.  A  little 
water  was  left  in  the  jar  before  the  combustion,  and 
when  it  had  ceased,  Dr.  Sinclair  shook  the  jar  until 
nearly  all  the  dense  white  vapour,  which  had  been 
formed,  disappeared.  He  then  poured  out  the  water 
into  two  wine-glasses,  and  every  one  who  felt  inclined, 
tasted  it,  to  discover  that  it  was  exceedingly  sour 
sulphuric  acid. 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  333 

"  What  was  it  that  made  the  hydrogen  soap-bub- 
f)les  explode  the  other  day,  Harry  ?" 

''  Air,  sir,  I  think  you  said." 

"  The  oxygen  of  the  air  it  was  which  separated 
from  the  nitrogen,  to  form  a  new  alliance  with  the 
hydrogen." 

"  Have  you  any  hydrogen  gas  now,  papa  ?"  said 
Alice. 

"This  large  bag  is  half-full  of  it,"  he  replied,  "and 
this  smaller  one  contains  oxygen.  I  have  prepared 
them  in  order  to  burn  up  that  ten-penny  nail  for 
Herbert." 

Herbert's  ten-penny  nail  was  now  an  object  of 
great  interest,,  though,  individually  speaking,  it  was 
only  a  myth. 

Fanny's  eyes  grew  large  with  wonder  as  Dr. 
Sinclair  took  a  nail  from  the  mantel-piece  and  said, 
"  I  will  endeavour  to  burn  this  for  you,  Herbert,  if 
you  say  so." 

Herbert  agreed  to  adopt  that  as  the  nail  of  his 
fancy,  and  inquired  what  the  hydrogen  had  to  do 
with  it. 

"  Very  much,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair;  "  it  must  supply 
all  the  fuel  we  require.  When  a  jet  of  hydrogen 
gas  is  ignited  in  pure  oxygen,  it  is  one  of  the  hottest 
flames  that  can  be  produced.  If  the  two  gases  are 
burned  together,  in  the  proportions  in  which  they 
exist  in  water,  the  resulting  flame,  though  very  small, 

is  hot  enough  to  melt  flint,  and  to  burn  the  hardest 
46 


334  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

metals.  The  apparatus  employed  to  produce  thig 
effect  i  >  called  a  compound  blow-pipe." 

Dr.  Sinclair  with  the  aid  of  his  son,  now  adjusted 
to  the  two  gas-bags  a  double  jet,  so  that  the  gases 
should  unite  at  the  orifice  of  tlie  jet  only.  Weights 
were  put  on  the  bags  to  press  out  the  gas.  The  hydro- 
gen was  first  ignited,  and  burned  with  a  pale  greenish 
flame.  When  the  oxygen  was  let  on,  the  flame 
grew  small,  and  very  white,  and  then  Dr.  Sinclair 
held  the  nail  by  a  pair  of  tongs,  in  the  minute  flame. 
Instantly  the  point  of  it  became  of  a  white  heat,  and 
a  perpetual  shower  of  sparks  flew  in  all  directions, 
while,  now  and  then,  globules  of  melted  iron  fell  upon 
the  edge  of  the  table  and  burst  into  a  thousand  scin- 
tillations. In  less  than  three  minutes,  Herbert's  ten- 
penny  nail  was  consumed,  and  all  the  party  joined 
in  acclamation.  Dr.  Sinclair  next  exposed  the  point 
of  a  very  fine  file  to  the  action  of  the  flame.  The 
scintillation  was  exceedingly  vivid  and  abundant,  far 
surpassing  that  of  the  nail,  which,  taught  by  the  watch- 
spring,  Herbert  and  Harry  had  no  difficulty  in 
tracing  to  the  carbon  in  the  steel  of  which  the  file 
was  made. 

A  piece  of  copper  wire  burned  with  a  beautiful 
green  flame  without  scintillation,  and  some  flattened 
pieces  of  zinc  produced  flames  of  a  dense  white 
appearance.  Platinum  was  next  presented  to  the 
flame,  and,  although  it  resists  the  most  intense  heat 
of  a  furnace,  it  yielded  to  the  minute  but  wonderful 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  "35 

flame  of  the  oxy-hydrogen  blowpipe,  and  dropped  iu 
fluid  globules  from  the  jet.  After  several  experi- 
ments of  this  kind,  Dr.  Sinclair  took  the  stem  of  a 
common  tobacco  pipe  of  clay,  and  holding  it  in  the 
flame,  it  soon  glowed  to  a  white  heat,  and  sent  out 
such  dazzling  rays  into  the  room,  that  all  were  glad 
to  veil  their  eyes  from  its  splendour. 

"  Is  not  that  what  is  called  the  '  Drtimmond  light?'  " 
inquired  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  It  is,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  though  it  is  a  very 
imperfect  exhibition  of  it.  There  should  be  a  para- 
bolic mirror  behind  the  jet,  and,  instead  of  pipe  clay, 
a  lime  cylinder  should  be  very  nicely  adjusted  to  the 
flame,  which,  in  the  best  arrangements  I  have  seen, 
issues  from  several  jets,  all  of  them  curving  towards 
the  lime." 

"  Why  is  it  called  the  Drummond  light,  Mr.  Old 
buckle  ?"  asked  Herbert. 

"  Because  it  was  first  produced  by  the  experiments 
of  a  British  officer  of  that  name,  if  I  mistake  not,"  he 
replied. 

"You  are  correct,  sir,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "for 
although  the  effect  of  the  compound  flame  upon  lime 
had  been  noticed,  Lieutenant  Drummond  was  the 
first  to  devise  an  apparatus  for  producing  it  to  the 
best  advantage." 

"  Why  is  not  the  Drummond  light  more  used  for 
illuminating  purposes  ?"  inquired  Edward  Vivian. 

"  It  is  too  difficult  to  manage,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair, 


336  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

"  though  it  is  employed  in  various  ways,  in  some 
light-houses,  I  believe,  and  in  the  oxy-hydrogen 
microscopes." 

"  Oh  !  yes !  Herbert,"  said  Harry,  "  don't  you 
recollect  the  Drummond  light  at  the  top  of  the  Mu- 
seum in  New- York  ?  It  used  to  move  round,  and 
sometimes  Broadway  was  brilliantly  lighted  by  it, 
rar  above  the  Park." 

"  There  is  another  very  beautiful  and  more  man- 
ageable oxygen  light  than  this,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair. 
''  It  is  called  the  Bude  light,  after  its  inventor,  and  1 
will  afford  you  a  rude  illustration  of  it.  In  this  lamp, 
which  is  called  an  Argand  lamp,  the  wick  is  supplied 
with  oxygen  by  the  air  rushing  through  its  circulai 
tube.  If,  instead  of  air,  which  contains  only  one  fifth 
part  of  oxygen,  we  contrive  to  feed  the  flame  with  a 
current  of  pure  oxygen  gas,  the  result  will  be  a 
furious  and  intensely  brilliant  combustion." 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  connected  the  tube  of  the  oxygen 
gas-bag  to  the  lower  part  of  the  lamp-tube,  and  in 
stantly  the  flame  of  the  lamp,  which  was  burning 
high,  and  with  much  smoke,  fell  to  half  the  height 
and  became  as  white  as  the  steel  in  the  flame  of  the 
of  the  blow-pipe.  The  light  was  even  more  admired 
than  that  of  the  lime  cylinder,  not  that  it  was  so 
bright,  but  it  was  more  steady. 

"I  remember  very  well,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle, 
"  to  have  seen  the  Bude  lamps  erected  in  Trafalgar 
Square  in  London,  a  *3W  years  ago.  They  gave  a 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  337 

most  splendid  light,  and  attracted  a  great  deal  of 
attention.  I  believe  the  new  Houses  of  Parliament, 
^lso,  are  or  were  lighted  by  Bude  lamps,  which  were 
so  placed  in  the  dome  as  to  shed  their  light,  while 
they  \vere  not  visible  from  below." 

"  Do  you  wait,  sir,"  said  William  Sinclair,  "  for 
thf  grand  finale  of  this  night's  exhibition  ?" 

;'I  believe  we  are  ready  for  it,  my  son." 

"I  propose  to  fire  a  salute  of  musketry,"  said 
William  Sinclair,  "  with  a  very  novel  description  of 
cartridge,"  and  he  exhibited  a  large  glass  vial  which 
was  corked,  though  apparently  empty.  Dr.  Sinclair 
tied  some  cotton  fast  to  the  end  of  a  brass  rod,  and 
then  dipped  it  in  alcohol  and  set  it  on  fire;  meanwhile, 
William  Sinclair  turned  up  his  coat-sleeve  and  bared 
his  arm  half-way  to  his  elbow.  He  then  opened  the 
mouth  of  the  vial  in  a  tub  of  water,  and  placing  his 
thumb  over  it,  he  sunk  it  to  some  depth  in  the  tub. 
Taking  the  lighted  wand  from  the  hand  of  his  father, 
he  removed  his  thumb  partially  from  the  mouth  of 
the  vial,  so  that  bubbles  escaped  from  it  and  roso 
to  the  surface  of  the  water.  These  he  touched  with 
the  flaming  wand,  and  they  went  off  with  a  sharp 
quick  report,  which,  when  they  came  thick  and  fast, 
very  greatly  resembled  a  successive  discharge  of 
musketry,  as  heard  in  a,  feu  dejoie. 

None  of  the  young  philosophers  found  any  difficulty 
in  understanding  this  noisy  and  striking  experiment, 
when  they  learned  that  the  "  cartridge'1'  was  filled 


338  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

with  the  two  gases  already  described,  but  Harry  said 
to  his  father : 

"Why  did  William  keep  the  bottle  so  far  beneath 
the  water  ?"  to  which  question  his  father  replied  : 

"  To  prevent  the  gas  in  it  from  taking  fire  before 
its  time.  If  it  had  done  so,  the  vial  would  have  been 
blown  into  a  thousand  pieces,  with  a  loud  report." 

Highly  delighted  with  what  they  had  seen  and 
heard,  our  happy  party  bade  adieu  to  the  laboratory, 
and  returned  to  the  library,  ready  for  thanksgiving 
and  repose. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

The  Xew  Year — Fanny's  Regrets  and  Reasons — CLldish  Philoso- 
phy— The  Bent  Spoon — An  Optical  Illusion — Bunging  a  Sov- 
ereign to  Light — Explanations — Twilight — The  Spectre  of  the 
Brocken — Departures. 

TH  ANNY'S  New- Year's  wishes  to  all  the  party  at 
Jj  Beechwood  were  as  prompt  and  affectionate  as 
her  Christmas  greetings  had  been.  The  new  year 
dawned  with  a  clear  light,  and  the  sun  rose  in  cloud- 
less beauty  after  the  storm  of  the  previous  day.  It 
was  natural  that  the  young  people  should  find  in  this 
a  token  of  a  bright  and  happy  year,  and  that  their 
salutations  should  be  exchanged  with  eagerness  and 
enthusiasm.  The  morning  devotions  of  the  family 
were  not  performed  without  a  due  recognition  of 
the  day,  in  the  selection  of  the  beautiful  New-Year's 
hymn,  commencing : 

"  Come ;  let  us  anew  our  journey  pursue  ;" 

and  Dr.  Sinclair  offered  grateful  acknowledgments  to 
God  for  his  prolonged  bounty,  and  besought  his 
favours  for  the  new  year. 

"  Oh !  I  am  so  sorry,"  said  Fanny,  at  the  break- 
fast-table, "  that  you  are  going  away,  Miss  Gertrude." 

"  Why,  Fanny,  have  you  just  thought  of  it  f  said 


340  HAHRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

Alice.  "  We  all  said,  yesterday,  that  we  were  sorry 
she  was  going  home." 

"Yes,"  said  Fanny,  "I  know  you  did;  but  she 
wasn't  just  going,  then,  and  to-day  she  is." 

"Very  good,  my  little  girl,"  said  her  mother,  "  you 
ure  a  true  philosopher,  Fanny ;  you  won't  borrow 
trouble,  I  see. 

"  What  does  that  mean,  mamma  ?"  asked  the  little 
girl. 

"  It  means  that  you  are  content  to  be  sorry  when 
the  time  comes  to  be  sorry,  without  thinking  about 
it  beforehand." 

"  Fanny  has  the  wisdom  of  a  child,"  said  her  father, 
"  and  it  would  be  well  if  we  could  all  keep  that  wis- 
dom, as  we  grow  up,  and  as  mamma  said,  just  now, 
'  not  borrow  trouble.'  " 

"But  Fanny,"  said  Gertrude  Vivian,  "why  are 
you  sorry  that  I  am  going  away  ?" 

"  Because  I  love  you,  Miss  Gertrude,  and  because 
mamma  is  glad  to  have  you  here." 

"  Sufficient  reasons,  certainly,"  said  her  mamma ; 
"  and  I  am  sorry,  too,  Fanny,  that  Gertrude  must 
leave  us,  to-day." 

"  And  are  you  not  sorry  that  I  am  going,  too,  my 
dear  little  girl  ?"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"  Oh !  yes,  Mr.  O'buckle,  but  then  you  will  come 
back,  very  soon,  and  Miss  Gertrude  won't." 

"Oh!  yes,  Fanny,  Gertrude  will  surely  como 
soon  to  see  you,"  .'aid  Miss  Vivian,  "  and  your 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  341 

mamma  has  promised  that  you  shall  coir.e  with  her, 
and  Alice,  and  Mary,  to  see  me  at  Viviandale,  before 
very  long." 

"  Shall  I,  dear  mamma  ?"  said  the  little  girl ;  "  oh ! 
dear,  how  happy  I  shall  be !" 

"  Fanny  borrows  pleasure,  it  seems,  if  she  refuses 
to  borrow  pain,"  said  Edward  Vivian,  who  was 
interested  in  the  conversation. 

"  Another  proof  o£  the  happy  instincts  of  child- 
hood," said  her  father. 

"Oh!  mamma,  see  how  you  have  bent  that  spoon!" 
exclaimed  Mary,  as  her  mother  placed  a  tea-spoon  in 
a  glass  bowl  of  water  which  stood  upon  the  table. 

"How  bent  it,  Mary?"  said  her  mother,  with 
surprise,  while  the  attention  of  all  was  directed  to 
the  object  of  remark.  The  spoon  was  half  buried  in 
the  crystal  fluid,  and  the  handle  of  it  appeared  to  be 
bent  sharply  in  the  middle.  Dr.  Sinclair  immediately 
took  it  out  and  called  upon  Mary  to  notice  that  it 
was  perfectly  straight — a  fact  which  she  could  not 
dispute,  though  she  looked  her  astonishment. 

"  Why,  papa,  it  looked  to  me  as  if  it  was  bent !" 
said  Harry. 

"  And  so  it  did  to  me,"  said  several  voices  in  suc- 
cession. 

"And  I  must  acknowledge,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair, 
"  that  so  it  did  to  me,  also." 

"  How  queer !"  said  Harry. 

"But  I  would  have  you  remember,  Harry,  and 


342  HARRY'S  VACATION;  on, 

Mary,  also,"  said  their  father,  "that  appearances 
are  often  deceitful,  and  this  is  one  of  the  numerous 
instances." 

"  An  optical  illusion,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle 

"What  is  that,  Fanny?"  said  her  father,  as  if 
answering  her  perplexed  look;  and  he  added,  address- 
ing  Mr.  Oldbuckle : 

"  You  must  pay  the  penalty,  my  dear  sir,  of  using 
hard  words  in  the  hearing  of  this  little  philosopher, 
and  make  them  plain  to  her." 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuokle,  laughing,  "I  will 
do  my  best.  I  mean  by  an  '  optical  illusion,'  Fanny, 
a  cheat  put  upon  the  eye,  in  making  it  seem  to  see 
what  it  really  does  not  see ;  the  spoon  seemed  to  be 
bent,  but  it  was  not  bent." 

Fanny  was  puzzled,  still;  and  Mr.  Oldbuckle, 
having  asked  Mrs.  Sinclair's  permission  to  use  a 
china  bowl  which  was  near  him,  took  from  his  pocket 
the  sovereign  which  had  created  such  merriment  upon 
the  miser's  plate,  and  dropped  it  into  the  bowl,  say- 
ing as  he  did  so,  with  a  smile : 

"  There  is  a  good  deal  more  philosophy  in  a  sov- 
ereign, than  has  ever  been  drawn  out  of  one." 

Every  one  laughed  at  his  wit,  but  no  one  denied 
his  words ;  and  he  proceeded  to  place  the  bowl  so 
that  Fanny  and  Mary  could  look  into  it,  but  not  far 
enough  to  see  the  coin.  He  now  took  the  water- 
pitcher  in  his  hand,  and  poured  water  gently  into 
the  bowl,  so  as  not  to  touch  or  disturb  the  piece  of 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  343 

money.     Before  he  had  half  filled  the  bowl,  Mary 
exclaimed : 

"  Oh !  there's  the  money — I  can  see  it  very  dis 
tinctly !" 

"Yes,"  said  Harry,  who  had  put  himself  in  tho 
same  relative  position  to  the  bowl  as  his  sisters 
occupied,  "  I  see  it,  too !  Mr.  Oldbuckle  must  have 
moved  it  by  the  stream ;  or  else,"  he  added,  with 
a  doubtful  look,  "  it  has  floated  up  on  the  water." 

"It  can  not  float,  Harry,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  and 
1  assure  you  that  I  have  not  moved  it  a  particle !" 

"  What  makes  it  appear,  then,  papa  ?"  said  Mary. 

"The  same  cause,  my  daughter,  which  made  the 
spoon  appear  to  be  bent.  Your  sister  can  tell  you 
what  the  cause  is,  I  fancy." 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say,  papa,"  replied  Alice,  "  that  I 
have  forgotten  the  term,  though  I  know  it  is  some 
property  of  light." 

"  It  is  that  property  of  light  which  is  called  refrac- 
tion ;"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  and  perhaps  Herbert  can 
.tell  us  the  etymology  of  refraction." 

Herbert  was  very  happy  to  reply  immediately : 

"  It  is  derived  from  the  Latin  frango,  sir,  which 
means  to  break" 

"  Do  you  know  where  light  comes  from,  Fanny  ?" 
said  her  father. 

"  Yes,  papa,  it  comes  from  the  sun." 

"  How  does  it  come  to  us,  Alice  7" 

"  In  straight  rays,  papa." 


344  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  Does  it  pass  through  all  substances  ?" 

"  No,  papa.  It  is  thrown  back  from  the  surface 
of  opaque  bodies,  but  passes  through  transparent 
substances." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "but  I  want  to 
know  yet  one  thing  more.  Can  you  tell  me  what 
happens  to  the  rays  of  light  when  they  pass  from  the 
atmosphere  into  water,  or  any  other  transparent 
substance  ?" 

"  They  are  refracted,  papa." 

"  Or,  that  Fanny  may  understand  it  better,  let  us 
say  they  are  bent  out  of  one  straight  course  into 
another.  The  same  thing  happens  when  rays  of 
light  go  out  of  water  into  the  atmosphere.  But  tell 
me,  Herbert,  what  enables  us  to  see  any  object  at 
all  ?" 

"  The  light,  sir,"  was  his  answer. 

"  Your  answer  is  quite  as  definite  as  my  question, 
Herbert,  and  therefore  I  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  it, 
especially  as  it  is  indisputably  true,  but  I  meant  to 
ask  how  the  impression  of  any  object  is  conveyed  to 
the  eye  ?" 

The  young  people  were  silent,  and  Dr.  Sinclair 
resumed : 

"  It  is  by  means  of  the  rays  cf  light  which  proceed 
from  it  to  the  eye,  and  you  must  remember  that  the 
object  always  appears  to  be  in  the  direction  of  the 
rays  which  come  last  to  the  eye.  If,  therefore,  the 
rays  pass  out  of  one  medium  into  another,  between 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  345 

the  object  and  the  eye,  the  rays  will  \  bent,  and  the 
object  will  appear  in  a  false  position.  Now,  who  can 
apply  these  xules  to  the  bent  spoon,  or  to  the  piece 
of  money  1" 

After  a  brief  pause,  Alice  ventured  to  say  with 
some  hesitation : 

"  The  rays  which  come  to  the  eye  from  that  part 
of  the  handle  of  the  spoon  above  the  water  are  straight, 
arid  those  which  come  from  the  part  below  the  water 
are  bent  out  of  that  course  by  the  water,  and  so  the 
handle  seems  to  be  bent  just  where  it  enters  the 
water." 

"You  have  explained  Mary's  phenomenon  very 
well,  indeed,  Alice,"  said  her  father,  "  and  I  hope  she 
understands  it;  but  you  have  not  attempted  to 
explain  Mr.  Oldbuckle's  mystery." 

"  Since  he  has  puzzled  us,  papa,  I  think  we  must 
expect  him  to  tell  us  the  riddte." 

"  The  proposition  is  so  reasonable,  my  dear  sir," 
said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  that  I  do  not  see  how  you  are  to 
refuse." 

"  I  trusted,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  that  the  expla- 
nation would  devolve  upon  you ;  but  I  will  not  re- 
fuse Alice's  request.  The  sovereign  was  not  visible 
to  Mary,  and  others,  at  first,  because  the  rays  of 
light  which  proceeded  from  it,  through  only  one 
medium,  were  cut  off  from  the  eye  by  the  edge  of 
the  bowl.  When  I  had  covered  it  with  water,  how 
ever,  the  rays  of  light  which  proceeded  from  it  took 


HARRYS  VACATION;  OR, 

a  direction  through  the  water  considerably  higher 
than  their  former  course,  so  that  when  they  reached 
the  air  again,  and  continued  on  to  the  eye,  they 
carried  to  it  the  image  of  the  coin,  which  was  really 
not  in  the  straight  line  of  vision.  It  was  raised  up  in 
appearance,  though  not  in  fact,  by  the  water.  Now, 
if  the  water  were  removed  from  the  bowl  gradually, 
as  by  a  small  syphon  tube,  the  coin  would  vanish 
from  our  view ;  and  if  Mary  should  retreat  a  little 
from  the  table,  till  she  can  not  see  it,  I  could  make  it 
visible  to  her,  by  pouring  in  more  water  to  the  basin, 
which  would  increase  the  length  of  the  first  rays 
through  the  water,  and  of  course  appear  to  raise  the 
money  higher  in  the  bowl." 

Mary,  and  indeed  all  the  party,  thanked  Mr. 
Oldbuckle  for  his  lucid  explanation,  and  William 
Sinclair  congratulated  him  upon  having  thrown  a 
clearer  light  upon  the  phenomenon,  than  even  the  sun 
did. 

"  And  yet,"  he  rejoined  laughingly,  "  without  tho 
sun's  light,  my  explanation  would  have  been  dark 
enough." 

"  And  it  is  to  this  curious  property  of  light,"  said 
Miss  Vivian,  "  that  we  owe  the  beautiful  phenomenon, 
of  the  twilight,  I  believe  ?" 

"The  gloaming  of  the  Scotch:  how  poetical  the 
word  is,  Miss  Vivian  !"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle. 

"I  like  the  English  'twilight'  better,  sir,"  said 
Gertrude,  "  perhaps  from  habit,  and  it  may  be  from 


PHILOSOPHY    A  F    HOME.  34? 

the  frequent  use  of  it  by  our  poets,  though  I  must, 
confess  that  the  Scotch  term  is  the  most  musical." 

"  But,  papa,"  said  Harry,  who  was  listening  with 
interest,  "what  is  the  twilight  1  I  know  that  it  is  the 
hour  before  sunrise,  and  that  after  sunset ;  but  what 
makes  it  light  at  all,  when  the  sun  is  not  above  the 
horizon  ]" 

"  The  very  thing  that  made  the  coin  appear  visible 
when  it  was  actually  below  the  rim,  or  horizon,  of  the 
bowl,"  said  his  father. 

Why,  papa,"  said  Mary,  "  the  sun's  rays  do  not 
pass  through  water,  do  they  ?  and  become  bent,  do 
they  ?" 

"  Upon  the  ocean  they  do,  literally,  my  daughter ; 
but  upon  the  land,  the  same  effect  is  produced  by  the 
greater  density  of  the  air  and  the  thick  vapours  upon 
the  earth's  surface,  which  make  a  different  medium  as 
really  as  the  water.  The  sun's  rays,  when  he  is 
some  distance  below  the  horizon,  are  refracted,  so 
that  an  image  of  the  sun  is  still  apparent  to  the  eye 
of  the  observer." 

"  What  makes  the  length  of  the  twilight  vary  so 
greatly  in  different  parts  of  the  world  ?"  inquired  Miss 
Vivian.  "  I  have  heard  Edward  say  that  the  South- 
crn  twilight  is  very  short,  in  comparison  with  that  of 
this  region." 

"  The  duration  of  the  twilight,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair, 
'•  increases  from  the  equator  to  the  poles.  The  long- 
est  twilight  at  the  equator  is  a  little  over  an  hour, 


348  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

while  at  the  poles  it  lasts  for  two  months,  and  thus 
the  long  night  of  the  polar  regions,  which  is  just  half 
the  year,  is  gratefully  relieved  of  more  than  half  its 
gloom  by  the  two  long  twilight  intervals  which  pre- 
cede and  follow  its  six  months'  day." 

"  I  think,"  said  Gertrude,  "  that  Mrs.  Norton's 
apostrophe  to  the  twilight  is  quite  as  beautiful  as  any 
thing  in  the  works  of  our  poets." 

"  Will  you  do  us  the  favor  to  repeat  her  lines, 
Gertrude  7"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair. 

"  I  am  not  sure  of  my  memory,"  she  replied,  "  but 
I  will  try : 

'  0  Twilight !  spirit  that  dost  render  birth 

To  dim  enchantments,  melting  heaven  to  earth ; 
Leaving  on  craggy  hills  and  running  streams 
A  softness  like  the  atmosphere  of  dreams.' " 

"  They  are  truly  beautiful,  and  beautifully  true," 
said  Mrs.  Sinclair. 

"  '  The  dim  enchantments,' "  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle, 
"  find  a  literal  realization  in  the  famous  spectre  of  the 
Brocken." 

The  eyes  of  the  young  people  seemed  to  ask  what 
this  famous  spectre  could  be;  and  Dr.  Sinclair 
begged  his  guest  to  give  them  some  account  of  it, 
which  he  cheerfully  consented  to  do. 

"  In  the  Hartz  mountains  of  Germany,"  he  said, 
"  there  is  a  summit  which  has  become  famous,  from 
the  frequent  apparition  of  gigantic  figures,  in  human 


PHILOSOPHr   AT    HOME.  349 

shape.  One  traveller  relates,  that,  having  gone  out 
about  sunrise  in  the  morning,  from  the  hotel  of  the 
Brocken,  he  was  startled  to  see  upon  a  hill,  two  miles 
distant,  a  human  figure  of  monstrous  dimensions. 
Just  at  the  moment  when  he  caught  a  glimpse  of 
this  apparition,  the  wind  threatened  to  blow  off  his 
hat,  and  he  clapped  both  his  hands  to  his  head  to  save 
it.  The  giant  shadow  mocked  his  motions,  and  con- 
tinued to  mimic  him,  whether  he  bowed,  or  waved  his 
hand.  He  then  went  and  called  the  landlord  of  his 
inn,  and  they  both  proceeded  to  the  spot  whence  the 
spectre  was  first  seen.  At  first,  nothing  was  visible, 
but  in  a  few  moments,  lo !  there  were  two  colossal 
figures  who  bowed  low  to  the  salutations  of  our  tra- 
veller and  his  host.  The  figures  were  sometimes  very 
clearly  defined,  and  then  again  grew  dim  and  vanished, 
but  presently  reappeared.  I  need  not  tell  you,  I 
suppose,  that  they  were  the  shadows  of  the  spectators, 
magnified  to  frightful  dimensions,  by  the  reflecting 
and  refracting  powers  of  the  clouds  and  atmosphere, 
upon  which  they  were  painted  by  the  sun,  like  the 
images  of  a  magic-lantern  upon  the  vapours  of  a 
chafing-dish." 

Mr.  Oldbuckle's  account  of  the  spectre  of  the 
Brocken  suspended  all  the  operations  of  the  break- 
fast-table ;  and  when  it  was  finished,  no  one  thought 
it  woi-th  while  to  renew  them.  They  would  all  gladly 
have  continued  the  interesting  conversation,  which 
had  sprung  up  in  consequence  of  Mary's  optical  illu 


350  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

sion,  but  the  morning  was  stealing  away ;  and  Dr.. 
Sinclair,  knowing  that  some  of  his  guests  were 
desirous  of  reaching  their  own  home  as  early  as  pos- 
sible, rose  to  superintend  the  preparations  for  their 
departure.  No  one  knew  better  than  he  did,  how,  in 
the  exercise  of  a  generous  hospitality,  to 

"  "Welcome  the  coming — speed  the  parting  guest." 

In  less  than  half  an  hour  after  breakfast,  Edward 
Vivian  and  his  sister  were  on  their  way  to  Viviandale. 
Mr.  Oldbuckle  had  left  for  the  Grove,  and  the  Beech- 
wood  party,  after  vainly  regretting  their  departure, 
were  discussing  plans  for  making  the  most  of  the 
two  remaining  days  of  the  vacation. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

A  Sleigh-Ride — A  Snow  Landscape — The  Railroad  Station— A 
Late  Train — Rate  of  Speed — Railways  in  England  and  Ameri- 
ca— English  Engines — Brother  Jonathan's  Railroads — The  Lo- 
comotive— Its  History — The  Return. 

i(  TTTHAT  do  you  say,  children,  to  a  sleigh-ride 
|  f  this  beautiful  morning  ?" 

"  I  say  yes,  papa,  with  all  my  heart,"  replied  Alice. 

"  Yes,  sir,  oh !  yes,  that  is  just  the  thing !"  said 
Harry. 

"  Will  you  join  us,  William,"  said  his  father,  "  in 
an  excursion  to  the  Railroad  Station,  whither  some 
business  of  importance  requires  me  to  go  1" 

"  Oh !  do,  brother  Willie,"  said  Alice,  as  he  looked 
up,  a  little  doubtingly,  from  the  pages  of  a  new  book 
to  which  he  had  resolved  to  devote  the  morning. 

"Yes,"  said  he,  rising,  "the  book  will  last,  but 
this  capital  sleighing  will  not  continue  long." 

The  preparations  for  the  ride  were  soon  made. 
The  family  sleigh  was  driven  to  the  front  gate  by 
Mark  Fletcher,  and  the  whole  party,  excepting  Mrs. 
Sinclair  and  Fanny,  were  soon  bestowed  among  the 
buffalo  robes  which  lined  its  seats.  William  Sinclair 
took  the  lines  from  Mark's  hand,  and  the  impatient 
horses  scarcely  waited  for  the  flourish  of  the  whip, 


352  JIAURY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

which  was  the  signal  for  starting.     They  were  off 
with  a  bound,  and  the  bracing  air,  with  the  gliding 
motion  of  the  sleigh,  exhilarated  the  spirits  of  all  the 
party.     The  road  was  nearly  level,  skirting,  for  sev- 
eral miles,  a  small  stream,  which  was  now  fast  bound 
in  the  icy  embrace  of  winter,  and  so  buried  in  the 
snow  that  it  was  scarcely  distinguishable  from  the 
highway,  except  where  one  or  two  rustic  bridges 
carried  the  latter  across  it.    The  snow  lay  over  all  the 
ground,  leaving  no  unsightly  patches  of  barrenness 
to  mar  its  beauty.     The  fall  of  the  previous   day 
had   covered   the  branches  of  the  trees,  and   bent 
the  crowns  of  the  young  cedars  towards  the  earth. 
The  landscape  was  monotonous,  but  beautiful  withal ; 
and  the  universal  hush  which  prevailed,  provoked, 
rather  than  rebuked,  the  light  laughter  and   eager 
conversation  of  Dr.  Sinclair  and  the  young  people. 
When  they  reached  the  Station,  or  the  Depot,  as 
it  is  more  commonly  termed — though  for  what  reason 
it  is  impossible  to  say,  since  the  former  is  an  English, 
and  the  latter  a  French  word — a  train  of  cars  had 
just  arrived,  an  hour  behind  its  usual  time.     The 
delay  was  occasioned  by  the  snow  upon  the  track  on 
the  upper  end  of  the  route,  which  had,  in  some  places, 
required  the  use  of  the  steam-plcugh  to  clear  it  away. 
It  was  the  morning  passenger-train  to  the  city,  and 
there  were  seven  cars,  fresides  the  baggage-car,  at- 
tached to  the  locomotive.     A  freight-train  was  also 
waiting  at  the  station,  ir.d  such  was  its  length  that  it 


PHILOSOPUr    AT    HOME.  3f>3 

extended  nearly  over  the  turn-out  track  which  it 
occupied.  The  engines  of  both  trains  were  letting 
off  steam  as  our  party  drove  up,  and  the  horses 
manifested  a  little  unwillingness  to  approach  the  iron 
steeds  of  the  railway ;  so  Dr.  Sinclair  directed  William 
to  turn  them  aside  to  a  large  shed  which  had  been 
erected  as  a  carriage  shelter.  Here,  they  were  up- 
fastened  from  the  sleigh  and  tied  to  a  rack,  while  the 
party  proceeded  to  the  passenger-house,  upon  a  plat- 
form close  to  the  track.  Scarcely  had  they  arrived 
there,  when  the  steam-whistle  uttered  its  startling 
signal ;  the  passengers  hurried  to  their  seats  in  the 
down-train,  and  with  a  few  quick,  laborious  breath- 
ings, the  steam-horse  started,  with  its  immense  burden 
of  human  life,  for  the  city. 

While  Dr.  Sinclair  was  transacting  his  business 
with  the  agent  of  the  railroad,  another  passenger- 
train  came  up,  having  passed  the  one  going  down,  at 
the  next  station  below,  which  was  five  miles  distant. 

"  It  is  only  sixteen  minutes,"  said  William  Sinclair, 
looking  at  his  watch,  "  since  the  down-train  left.  It 
had  to  go  to  the  next  station,  before  the  train  which 
has  just  arrived  could  leave ;  so  that  both  of  them 
must  have  travelled  very  rapidly  between  the  two 
points." 

"  Yes,"  said  Herbert,  "  forty  miles  an  hour.1* 

"  Oh !  no,  Herbert,"  exclaimed  Harry,  "  scarcely 
twenty  miles  an  hour.  Five  miles  in  sixteen  minutes 
is  very  slew  travellirg  for  a  steam-engine.  I  think." 


354  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  on, 

"  Why,  Harry,"  said  Alice,  "  what  a  mistake. 
You  forget  that  the  sixteen  minutes  must  be  equally 
divided  between  the  two  trains,  giving  only  eight 
minutes  to  each." 

"  Sure  enough,"  said  Harry,  "  I  quite  forgot  that." 

"  The  trains  are  running  faster  than  usual,"  said 
William,  "  to  make  up  for  lost  time." 

"  How  fast  do  the  trains  travel  on  the  best  rail- 
ways in  this  country  ?"  inquired  Herbert. 

"  About  thirty  miles  an  hour,  I  should  suppose," 
replied  William.  "  The  average  speed  of  the  trains 
upon  our  American  railroads  is  less  than  that  upon 
the  railways  in  England,  probably  by  one  fourth. 
The  mail  and  passenger-trains  there  run  at  least  forty 
miles  an  hour." 

"  Why  do  they  run  faster  than  our  trains,  brother 
William  1"  inquired  Alice. 

"  The  roads  are  better,  and  the  engines  more 
powerful,  as  a  general  thing,"  was  her  brother's 
reply. 

"  Why,  I  thought,"  said  Herbert,  "  that  the  Yan- 
kees had  the  credit  of  excelling  the  English  in  steam 
engines." 

"  Only  in  marine  engines,  if  the}-  are  entitled  to  it 
even  in  those.  The  American  steamships  an i  steam- 
boats surpass  the  English  steam  craft  in  speed,  more, 
I  think,  from  the  build  of  the  vessels,  than  from  the 
superiority  of  the  engines.  At  all  events,  the  English 
locomotive  engines  run  at  a  greater  speed  than  ours, 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  355 

though  we  must  take  into  account  the  greater  solidity 
and  smoothness  of  the  English  roads,  upon  which 
much  more  money  is  expended  than  upon  our  roads." 

While  William  was  drawing  this  distinction  be- 
tween the  English  and  American  railroads,  Dr.  Sin- 
clair had  come  up,  unperceived,  to  where  the  group 
were  standing,  at  the  window  of  the  passenger-house, 
and  he  made  them  all  start  by  saying,  as  William 
ceased  speaking : 

"  Brother  Jonathan  has  twenty  miles  of  railroad 
to  build  for  every  one  that  John  Bull  constructs,  and 
a  dozen  engines  to  run  for  every  one  that  his  big 
brother  keeps  in  motion.  It  is  not  to  be  expected, 
therefore,  that  he  can  build  his  roads  as  expensively, 
and  equip  them  as  completely,  as  the  English  roads." 

The  freight-train  now  resumed  its  course  up  the 
road,  and  another  succeeded  it  upon  the  turn-out, 
occupying  the  position  in  such  a  way  that  the  engine 
stood  nearly  in  front  of  the  passenger-house.  Dr. 
Sinclair  proposed  that  the  young  people  should  go 
and  take  a  good  look  at  the  iron  monster  which  per- 
formed such  Herculean  tasks.  The  engine  was  a 
new  one,  of  the  largest  size,  and  it  shone  with  all  the 
glitter  of  its  first  polish.  It  was  fitly  named  "  Titan," 
as  a  row  of  brass  letters  upon  the  boiler  indicated. 

"  Do  you  know  any  thing  about  the  name  which 
this  engine  bears,  Harry  ?"  said  his  father. 

-l  I  do  not  recollect  any  thing  about  it,  sir,  if  I  ever 
knew,"  Harry  replied. 


356  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

"And  you,  Alice?" 

"  I  am  in  the  same  blissful  state  with  Hurry- 
papa,"  said  Alice,  blushing. 

"  How  is  it  with  you,  Herbert  f 

"  I  remember,  sir,"  he  replied,  "  that  Titan  is  a 
name  which  occurs  in  the  classical  dictionary,  and  I 
know  that  he  was  a  giant ;  but  I  can  not  tell  you  any 
thing  more." 

"That  is  something  gained,  certainly,"  resumed 
Dr.  Sinclair ;  "  but  it  may  be  as  well  for  you  to  know 
that  the  my  thologists  generally  enumerate  six  Titans, 
the  sons  of  Crelus  and  Terra,  though  later  writers 
reckon  three  times  that  number.  The  general  account 
is,  that  they  dethroned  their  father,  and  waged  war 
with  Jupiter  for  the  government.  The  Titans  were 
finally  overcome,  and  cast  into  Tartarus.  The  name 
is  a  symbol  of  great  physical  power,  and  the  adjective 
Titanic  is  frequently  employed  in  our  language  in  the 
sense  of  gigantic." 

"  Papa,"  said  Mary,  "  I  should  like  to  know  how 
the  engine  works." 

"  And  so  should  I,  very  much  indeed,"  said  Alice ; 
"  for  although  I  have  an  idea  of  the  force  of  steam,  I 
can  not  understand  its  use  in  this  curious-looking 
machine." 

"  Your  difficulty,  Alice,"  said  her  father,  "  is  a  very 
common  one.  I  presume  that  of  the  tens  of  thousands 
of  people  who  travel  upon  railroads,  not  one  in  a 
hundred  knows  how  the  locomotive  moves,  and  I 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  357 

could  not  hope  to  make  it  intelligible  to  you  without 
the  aid  of  a  model." 

"  Why  are  two  of  the  wheels  so  much  larger  than 
the  other  four,  papa  ?"  inquired  Alice. 

"They  are  the  driving-wheels  of  the  engine,  and 
upon  their  size,  which  must,  however,  be  nicely  pro- 
portioned to  the  power  of  the  engine,  depends  the  rate 
of  speed.  On  each  side  of  the  long  horizontal  boiler, 
you  notice  a  polished  steel  cylinder,  in  each  of  which 
a  piston  moves,  that  turns  the  driving-wheel,  by  a 
crank.  The  two  cylinders  work  together,  and  the 
driving-wheels  move  round  upon  the  rail,  while  the 
pistons  move  once  backward  and  forward  in  the 
cylinders.  Steam,  from  the  boiler,  is  let  into  the 
cylinders  at  both  ends  alternately,  first  to  drive  the 
piston  forward,  and  then  to  drive  it  backward." 

"  What  becomes  of  all  the  steam,  after  it  has  done 
Its  work,  papa  T'  said  Alice. 

"  It  escapes  from  either  end  of  the  cylinder  into  the 
waste  tube." 

"  Why  have  the  driving-wheels  no  flange,  sir,  wnich 
I  now,  for  the  first  time,  perceive  they  have  not  1" 
said  William  Sinclair. 

"  They  were  at  first  constructed  like  the  friction- 
wheels,  with  flanges ;  but,  in  the  new  engines,  they  are 
omitted,  the  flanges  of  the  small  wheels  being  con- 
sidered sufficient  to  keep  the  engine  upon  the  rails." 

"  That  driving-wheel  must  be  five  feet  in  diameter, 

is  it  not  ?"  said  William. 
16 


358  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  Scarcely  less,  I  should  suppose,"  said  his  father. 

"  Every  revolution  of  it-  will  carry  the  engine  for- 
ward, then,  more  than  fifteen  feet,  if  the  wheels  do 
not  slip,"  continued  William. 

"  What  should  make  the  wheels  slip  ?"  asked 
HaiTy. 

"  The  want  of  adhesion  between  the  tires  and  the 
rails,"  replied  his  father,  "  and,  at  first,  this  was  the 
grand  difficulty  in  the  locomotive.  All  manner 
of  devices  were  adopted,  such  as  rough  edges,  pro- 
jecting knobs,  cogged  rails,  and  chains,  to  overcome 
a  difficulty  that  really  existed  only  in  the  imagination 
of  machinists.  By  and  by,  it  was  found  that  the 
natural  adhesion  of  the  surfaces  was  adequate  to  keep 
the  wheels  from  slipping,  unless  the  rails  were  wet, 
or  frosty,  or  greasy,  in  which  case  it  is  customary  to 
sprinkle  them  with  sand,  which  enables  the  wheels  to 
take  hold  of  the  rails." 

"  How  long  is  it  since  the  locomotive  was  first 
invented,  papa  ?"  asked  Mary. 

"The  first  steam-engine  upon  wheels,  which  is  the 
definition  of  a  locomotive,"  replied  her  father,  "  was 
made  in  1804,  so  that  nearly  half  a  century  has 
elapsed  since  it  was  invented ;  but  for  many  years  it 
was  a  rude  and  inefficient  machine,  compared  with 
this  noble  specimen  of  man's  art." 

At  this  moment,  the  engine  gave  tne  usual  signal 
of  departure,  and  the  engineer  tried  his  boiler,  which 
spirted  a  jet  of  steam  and  water  in  the  direction  of 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  359 

our  group,  and  made  some  of  them  start  with  trepida- 
tion. In  another  moment,  the  polished  arms  began 
to  move,  the  huge  wheels  turned  round,  and  the  pon- 
derous engine  moved  on,  followed  by  a  train  of 
freight-cars,  of  which  Alice  and  Mary  counted  twenty- 
five  in  number. 

"  See,  Herbert,"  said  Harry,  "  how  these  heavy 
rails  are  worn  and  broken  by  the  trains  which  pass 
over  them." 

"  And  can  you  suggest  any  other  cause,  my  boy," 
said  his  father,  "  that  contributes  to  the  injury  of  the 
face  of  the  rails  ?" 

Harry  could  think  of  none ;  neither  could  Herbert, 
and  I  am  not  sure  that  Alice  would  have  done  so, 
had  not  her  father  varied  the  form  of  the  question 
when  he  passed  it  to  her,  by  saying : 

"What  effect  must  the  rain  and  moisture  have 
upon  the  rails,  Alice  ?" 

"They  will  become  rusted,  sir,"  she  replied, 
"and—" 

"  Say  '  oxydized,'  my  daughter,  when  you  are  sure 
tliat  you  will  be  understood ;  but  go  on  with  your 
answer." 

"And  the  scales  of  the  oxyd  of  iron  will  easily  be 
crushed  and  peeled  off  by  the  wheels." 

"  Very  good,  indeed,  Alice,"  said  her  brother 
William,  "  the  idea  never  occurred  to  me  until  now." 

"  The  injury  done  in  this  way  to  the  rails  is  not 
inconsiderable,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair;  "but,"  he  added, 


360  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

taking  out  his  watch,  "  do  you  know  that  we  have 
been  here  nearly  two  hours  ?  We  must  make  haste 
back  to  Becchwood,  or  we  shall  be  behind  our  usual 
dinner-time.  I  will  show  you,  by  and  by,  a  model 
of  a  locomotive  engine,  by  which  you  can  study  its 
parts  more  easily  than  you  could  from  the  engine, 
itself,  which  has  a  multiplicity  of  things  about  it  to 
confuse  the  novice." 

The  ride  back  was  even  pleasantcr  than  the  morn- 
ing journey  had  been,  for  the  sun  was  shining  out, 
both  bright  and  warm.  The  snow  was  dripping 
plentifully  from  the  branches  of  the  trees,  and  the 
rays  of  the  sun  made  the  flakes  and  the  drops  sparkle 
like  diamonds 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

Snow-Sports — The  Telescope — The  Tower-Chamber — History  of 
the  Telescope — Varieties  —  Lord  Rosse's  Telescope  —  The 
Moon — Her  Revolutions — Telescopic  Views — Surface  of  tho 
Moon — The  Moon-Hoax — A  Star — Jupiter  and  his  Moons — 
Addison's  Hymn. 

THE  afternoon  was  devoted  to  sledding  and  snow- 
balling, and  a  merry  time  our  young  people 
contrived  to  make  of  it.  The  warmth  of  the  sun  had 
made  the  snow  soft  upon  the  surface,  but  the  air  was 
cold  and  the  bottom  of  the  snow  was  still  too  dry  for 
the  boys  to  succeed  very  well  in  their  efforts  to  make 
a  snow-man.  They  abandoned  the  design,  therefore, 
and  found  their  principal  amusement  upon  the  hill 
which  had  been  the  scene  of  their  previous  sport. 
William  Sinclair  had,  for  once,  resisted  their  wishes, 
and  was  wrapped  up  in  his  attractive  book,  "The 
History  of  Henry  Esmond."  He  was  already  fas- 
cinated by  the  portrait  of  Beatrix,  and  Esmond,  him- 
self, was  beginning  to  exercise  a  strong  degree  of 
influence  upon  him.  The  snow  had  no  attractions 
for  him,  comparable  to  the  cozy  sofa  of  the  library, 
and  the  unfolding  pleasures  of  Thackeray's  glimpses 
of  the  times  of  Queen  Anne. 

At  the  tea-table,  Dr.  Sinclair  announced  his  inten- 


362  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

tion  to  devote  the  evening  to  the  telescopic  examine 
tion  of  the  moon,  a  piece  of  information  which 
afforded  the  party  unalloyed  pleasure.  He  had 
recently  procured  a  reflecting  telescope  of  considera- 
ble power,  and,  during  the  afternoon,  he  had  been 
busy  in  adjusting  it  for  the  proposed  examination. 
The  telescope  was  placed  in  the  chamber  of  the 
tower,  over  the  library.  The  room  was  small,  but 
still  of  sufficient  dimensions  to  afford  ample  space 
for  the  instrument,  and  also  for  a  small  stove  to 
warm  the  chamber.  Between  the  three  windows  of 
the  tower,  there  were  cushioned  seats  for  its  visitors, 
and  soon  after  tea,  these  were  nearly  all  filled  by  the 
family. 

"  I  must  tax  your  knowledge,  Herbert,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair,  "for  the  etymology  of  the  name  which  this 
beautiful  instrument  bears." 

"  Like  its  kindred  word,  microscope,  it  is  from  the 
Greek,  sir ;  from  telos — far,  and  skopeo — to  see." 

"  And  the  word  is  admirably  expressive,"  said  Dr. 
Sinclair,  "  for  by  the  telescope  we  are  enabled  to  see 
truly  afar,  not  only  upon  the  surface  of  our  globe,  but 
into  depths  far  beyond  its  atmosphere,  even." 

"  To  whom  do  you  attribute  the  invention  of  the 
telescope,  sir?"  inquired  William. 

"  To  Galileo,  beyond  a  doubt,"  was  Dr.  Sinclair's 
reply ;  "  for  although  the  pretty  story  may  be  true, 
that  some  children,  who  were  playing  in  the  shop  of 
a  spectacle-maker  in  Holland,  magnified  objects  by 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  363 

putting  two  spectacle-glasses  together,  no  one  applied 
the  discovery  to  scientific  purposes,  before  Galileo." 

"  I  have  heard  a  story  to  the  effect  that  Jansen,  a 
spectacle-maker  of  Magdeburgh,  discovered  the  prin. 
ciple,  and  constructed  telescopes,  which  he  sold  at  a 
very  high  price,  before  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century." 

<;  Such  a  story  is  to  be  met  with  in  books,  I  know," 
said  his  father ;  "  but  if  there  were  any  telescopes 
constructed  before  Galileo's  instrument,  made  in 
1609,  they  must  have  been  toys  only. 

"  Was  this  the  form  of  the  first  telescopes,  papa  ?" 
asked  Alice. 

"  By  no  means,"  said  her  father.  "  The  first  tele- 
scopes were  like  the  spy-glass  in  the  library,  and 
were  called  refracting  telescopes.  The  instrument 
we  shall  use  to-night  is  a  reflecting  telescope,  and  was 
first  devised  by  Mersenne,  a  Frenchman,  about  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century." 

"  Pardon  me  for  interrupting  you,  sir,"  said  Wil- 
liam Sinclair,  "but  I  have  always  understood  that 
Sir  Isaac  Newton  was  the  inventor  of  the  reflecting 
telescope." 

"Newton  constructed  two  in  1692;  but  he  was 
certainly  anticipated  twenty  years  by  Mersenne ; 
and  in  1662  a  young  man  named  Gregory  published 
a  proposal  to  construct  a  reflector,  which  he  did  not 
do,  for  want  of  means.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  varied  from 
the  plans  of  Mersenne  and  Gregory,  improving  on 


364  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

both,  and  hence  the  reflector  is   sometimes  called 
the  Newtonian  telescope." 

"  What  is  the  difference,  papa,  between  then1  ?" 
inquired  Alice. 

"It  is  very  wide,  my  child.  In  the  refracting 
telescope,  the  spectator  looks  at  the  object  directly, 
through  two  lenses,  one  called  the  object-glass,  and 
the  other  the  eye-glass.  In  the  reflecting  telescope, 
he  sees  only  the  image  of  the  object,  reflected  from  a 
concave  metallic  mirror  or  speculum,  at  the  bottom 
of  the  tube,  to  another  plane  mirror,  and  from  the 
latter  to  the  eye-glass  at  the  side,  or  at  the  edge  of, 
the  mouth  of  the  tube." 

"  I  was  very  much  interested,  recently,"  said  Wil- 
liam, "  in  a  particular  account  of  the  huge  telescope 
erected  by  Lord  Rosse,  at  his  magnificent  estate  in 
Ireland." 

"I  read  the  account  in  the  London  Illustrated 
News ;  that  is  the  one  you  allude  to,  I  presume," 
said  his  father. 

"  Yes,  sir,  that  was  it.  It  was  described  as  occu- 
pying a  vast  space,  inclosed  by  massive  stone  walls 
fifty  feet  high,  seventy  feet  deep,  and  more  than 
twenty  feet  asunder.  The  dimensions  were  so  extra- 
ordinary for  a  telescope  chamber,  that  I  fixed  them 
in  my  memory." 

"  I  think  the  speculum  of  the  Rosse  telescope  is 
six  feet,  or  about  as  long  as  the  tube  of  my  modest 
reflector,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  laughing,  "  but  then  my 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  365 

Lord  Rosse  could  afford  to  spend  a  handsome  fortune 
upon  this  single  instrument." 

"Now,  Fanny,"  said  her  father,  "suppose  you  creep 
down  this  tube  for  me,  and  wipe  the  speculum." 

"  Oh  !  papa,  I  couldn't  do  that,"  said  the  little  girl 

"  What  is  the  speculum,  papa  7"  said  Mary. 

"  It  is  a  concave  mirror  of  metallic  composition,  a 
mixture  of  copper  and  tin,  which  takes  a  high  degree 
of  polish,  and  which  reflects  the  image  of  a  star  or 
planet,  when  its  rays  enter  the  tube  and  fall  upon  the 
speculum." 

"  The  moon  is  not  full,  to-night,  is  it,  papa  ?"  said 
Alice.  "  It  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  quite  round." 

"  This  is  her  thirteenth  day,  Alice.  Can  you  tell 
me  when  she  will  be  full  ?" 

Alice  was  at  fault,  having  evidently  forgotten  what 
she  must  have  learned  from  Mrs.  Marcet,  that  the 
period  from  one  new  moon  to  another  is  twenty-nine 
days  and  nearly  thirteen  hours,  and  that  the  time 
of  full  moon  is  just  one  half  of  this  period. 

"So,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  the  moon  will  rise  full 
on  Saturday  night.  It  is  better,  however,  to  examine 
her  surface  with  the  telescope  before  she  becomes  full, 
because  it  presents  more  striking  points  than  when 
we  see  her  full  illuminated  face." 

"  Do  you  recollect,  Alice,"  said  her  brother,  "how 
long  it  takes  the  moon  to  complete  a  revolution  upon 
ner  axis  T" 

"  I  fear  I  have  forgotten  all  my  astronomy,"  said 


366  IIAUKY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

Alice;  "the  diameters,  and  distances,  and  periods, 
were  always  hard  to  remember." 

"  It  is  the  more  easily  recollected,  perhaps,"  said 
her  brother,  "  that  it  is  also  the  period  of  her  motion 
in  her  path  around  the  earth.  She  accomplishes 
both  in  twenty-seven  days  and  a  half." 

"  Why  papa  said,  just  now,  that  the  time  from  one  • 
new  moon  to  another  was  over  twenty-nine  days,  did 
you  not,  sir  ]"  asked  Harry. 

"  I  did,  indeed,  Harry,  and  there  appears  to  be  a 
singular  discrepancy  between  my  statement  and  your 
brother's,  and  yet  both  are  true." 

"  I  do  not  see  how  they  can  both  be  true,"  persisted 
Harry. 

"  Then  we  must  clear  up  this  difficulty  before  we 
go  on,  my  boy.  The  moon  goes  round  the  earth 
every  month,  eh,  Harry !" 

"  Yes,  sir ;  so  I  have  been  taught." 

"  And  does  the  earth  remain  stationary  all  the  time, 
Harry  ?" 

"  No,  sir,  the  earth  goes  round  the  sun,"  replied 
Harry. 

"Well,  now,  my  boy,  suppose  you  had  to  run 
around  a  coach  in  a  circle,  upon  a  highway,  and  you 
could  do  it  when  the  coach  was  still,  in  one  minute, 
would  it  take  you  any  longer  to  run  around  it  if  the 
coach  was  going  at  full  speed  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  am  sure  it  would,  a  good  deal  longer." 

"  I  think  so,  too,  Harry ;  and  since  the  earth  is  fly- 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  3G7 

Ing  in  its  orbit  at  the  rate  of  sixty-eight  thousand 
miles  an  hour,  it  takes  the  moon  over  two  days  longer, 
to  get  completely  around  it,  than  it  would  if  the 
earth  were  at  rest." 

"Here,  Harry,"  said  his  brother,  "look  at  mj 
Yv"atch ;  you  know  that  at  noon,  both  hands  are  pre 
cisely  together,  and  it  takes  the  minute-hand  one 
hour  to  go  around  the  dial.  Are  the  hands  together 
again  at  one  o'clock  ?" 

"No,  indeed,  they  are  not,"  said  Harry.  "The 
hour-hand  is  at  one,  but  the  minute-hand  is  five 
minutes  behind  it." 

"And  it  will  be  six  minutes,  before  the  minute 
overtakes  the  hour-hand.  So  the  moon  goes  round 
the  earth  in  something  more  than  twenty-seven  days ; 
but  before  she  comes  into  the  same  position  to  it 
again,  she  must  overtake  the  earth's  motion,  and  this 
takes  two  days  more." 

"  I  think  I  understand  it  fully,"  said  Harry,  with  a 
gratified  look. 

Here  Dr.  Sinclair  interrupted  the  conversation,  to 
afford  the  party  a  view  of  the  moon,  through  the  tele- 
scope. Fanny  was  first  raised  to  the  high  stool,  and 
directed  to  look  through  the  eye-glass  at  the  edge  of 
the  tube. 

"  Oh !  papa,"  she  exclaimed,  "  how  pretty  it  is !  it 
is  as  bright  as  the  fire,  except  some  ugly-looking 
aoles." 

"  They  are  ugly  holes,  I  have  no  doubt,  Fanny," 


368  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

said  her  father,  as  he  lifted  her  down  from  the 
stool. 

Alice  succeeded  Fanny,  and,  one  after  another, 
they  all  looked  at  our  fair  satellite  through  the  tele- 
scope. The  entire  disc  of  the  moon  was  not  visible 
at  once,  but  the  whole  field  of  view  was  occupied  by 
one  portion  of  it,  upon  which  the  eye  beheld  a  strange 
variation  of  brilliancy.  There  were  spots  of  large 
size  that  seemed  to  be  entirely  unilluminated,  and 
others  partly  in  shadow.  These  were  surrounded  by 
rings  of  very  bright  light;  and  Dr.  Sinclair  explained 
to  the  young  spectators  that  the  shadowy  portions 
were  low,  and  the  bright  portions  elevated  parts  of 
the  moon's  surface.  The  black  spots,  he  said,  were 
deep  cavities,  and  might  be  the  beds  of  dried-up  seas, 
or  the  craters  of  huge  volcanoes. 

The  unfilled  edge  of  the  moon  appeared  very 
luminous,  and  there  were  two  or  three  bright  spots 
apparently  separated  from  the  main  limb.  These 
Dr.  Sinclair  particularly  pointed  out,  and  supposed 
them  to  be  the  peaks  of  high  mountains,  which  had 
caught  the  sunlight,  while  their  broad  bases  were  yet 
unillumined.  This  view,  he  told  them,  they  could 
not  have  enjoyed,  if  they  had  waited  until  the  moon 
was  full. 

"  How  high  are  the  mountains  in  the  moon,  papa  ?" 
said  Alice. 

"Not  so  high  as  some  of  the  mountains  on  the 
earth,  probably,"  said  her  father  ;  "  but  considering 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  369 

the  fact  that  the  moon  is  vastly  smaller  than  the 
earth,  they  are  exceedingly  lofty.  And  then  they 
cover  the  whole  visible  hemisphere  of  the  moon,  and 
if  her  other  half  is  as  rugged  as  the  one  we  see,  it 
must  be  a  perfect  Alpine  world." 

"  Has  not  the  other  side  been  examined,  sir  f  said 
Herbert. 

"  No,  Herbert,  and  for  a  very  simple  reason.  The 
moon  never  turns  her  other  hemisphere  towards  the 
earth.  She  turns  upon  her  own  axis,  in  just  the  same 
time  that  she  takes  to  move  round  the  earth,  and  so 
we  never  get  a  glimpse  of  the  other  side  of  the 
moon." 

"  Papa,"  said  Alice,  "  I  was  just  thinking  that  if  the 
moon  is  inhabited  by  human  beings,  and  they  ever 
travel  from  one  hemisphere  to  the  other,  the  traveller 
who  should  come  from  the  other  side  to  the  one  we 
see,  would  be  amazed  to  behold  the  earth  shining 
with  such  a  broad  bright  face  in  the  sky." 

"  How  much  larger  would  the  earth  look  to  him 
than  the  moon  does  to  us,  Alice  ?" 

"I  do  not  know,  papa,  but  it  must  be  much 
larger." 

"Yes  indeed,  it  must — at  least  thirteen  times 
larger,"  said  her  father,  "  and  that  would  be  a  sight 
worth  going  from  one  hemisphere  to  another  tc 
see." 

"  Unless  the  adventurer  had  to  climb  over  volcanic 
mountains,  or  to  traverse  valleys  full  of  lava,  like  Ice 


8/0  HARRYS  VACATION;  OR, 

land,  which,  I  think,  the  moon  must  resemble  some, 
vhat,"  said  William  Sinclair. 

"  But,  papa,  do  you  think  there  are  people  in  the 
mocn  ?"  inquired  Mary. 

"  Why,  Mary,  have  you  not  heard  of  '  the  man  in 
the  moon  ?' " 

"  Very  often,  papa,  and  seen  his  face,  too." 

"  A  real  man,  Mary  ?"  said  Fanny,  whose  eyes 
were  very  wide  open,  at  this  part  of  the  conversation. 

"  Look  at  the  moon,  Fanny,"  said  her  father,  "  and 
tell  me  if  you  see  nothing  there  like  a  face." 

Fanny  looked,  but  her  imagination,  not  yet  quick- 
ened by  stories  of  "  the  man  in  the  moon,"  was  not 
prompt  to  detect  his  lineaments  in  the  curious  dispo- 
sition of  light  and  shadow  which  prevailed  there.  At 
last,  with  Mary's  aid,  the  little  girl  confessed  to  see- 
ing something  like  eyes  and  nose,  and  mouth,  belong- 
ing to  "  the  man  in  the  moon." 

"  But,  to  answer  your  question  seriously,  Mary," 
said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  it  is  not  probable  that  there  are 
human  beings  in  the  moon,  for  two  reasons,  which, 
although  they  are  not  absolutely  known  facts,  are  ex- 
ceedingly great  probabilities.  The  moon,  it  is  sup- 
posed, has  no  water,  and,  worse  still,  no  atmosphere ; 
and  if  it  had  both  of  these,  it  is  such  a  wild  volcanic 
globe,  that  even  Iceland,  which  William  thinks  must 
be  something  like  it,  would  be  a  paradise  of  beauty 
compared  with  its  fearful  chasms,  craters,  and  its 
rugged  mountain  ranges." 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  371 

"  Was  there  not  a  great  excitement  once,  in  this 
part  of  the  world,  sir,  produced  by  a  famous  moon- 
story  ?"  inquired  William. 

"  Yes,  my  son,  and  if  you  would  like  to  read  it,  I 
can  gratify  you,  for  I  saved  a  copy  of  the  Sun  news- 
paper, in  which  it  was  first  published,  pretending  to 
be  copied  from  an  Edinburgh  scientific  journal." 

"I  have  heard  so  much  of  it,  sir,  that  I  should 
really  like  to  read  it.  Was  it  not  very  ingenious  1" 

"In  some  points  it  was,  without  exception,  the 
most  ingenious  hoax  1  ever  met  with ;  but  the  pre- 
liminary description  of  the  telescope,  with  which  its 
details  were  developed,  was  fatal  to  its  success  with 
the  man  of  science.  The  great  majority  of  people, 
however,  were  taken  in,  and  the  winged  inhabitants 
of  the  moon,  inhabiting  indescribable  Edens,  were 
not  myths  to  the  multitude." 

At  Fanny's  request,  Dr.  Sinclair  now  directed  the 
telescope  so  as  to  present  to  her  eye  the  image  of  a 
star.  To  her  surprise,  however,  it  was  not  magni- 
fied, and  she  said : 

"  Why,  papa,  it  doesn't  grow  any." 

The  result  astonished  nearly  all  the  young  people 
juite  as  much  as  it  did  Fanny.  They  saw  the  star 
shorn  of  its  dazzling  rays,  but  not  a  whit  larger  than 
it  appeared  to  the  naked  eye.  They  could  scarcely 
believe  the  explanation  which  Dr.  Sinclair  afforded 
them  of  this  strange  result.  He  told  them  that  the 
fixed  stars  were  so  many  millions  of  miles  distant, 


372  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

that  scarcely  any  telescope  yet  constructed  served  to 
magnify  them  to  the  eye.  He  then  moved  the  in 
strument,  until  he  was  able  to  embrace  the  planet 
Jupiter  in  its  range ;  and  first  showing  the  star  in  the 
heavens  to  Fanny,  he  directed  her  to  look  into  the 
telescope. 

She  was  now  more  bewildered  than  ever  to  see  "  a 
small  moon,"  as  she  called  it,  with  three  stars  close 
to  it.  After  the  others  had  enjoyed  this  beautiful 
view,  and  observed  particularly  the  belts  or  stripes 
upon  the  disc  of  the  planet,  Dr.  Sinclair  told  them 
that  it  belonged  to  our  own  system,  and  was  not 
a  fixed  star,  like  the  one  they  had  seen  just  before. 

Alice  inquired  why  they  did  not  see  the  four 
moons  of  Jupiter,  to  which  her  father  replied  that 
one  of  them  was  in  eclipse  behind  the  planet. 

The  hour  of  ten  had  now  arrived,  and  Dr.  Sinclair 
thought  it  best  to  put  an  end  to  the  lesson  and  ob- 
servations of  the  night.  When  they  descended  into 
the  library,  they  sung,  as  part  of  their  night  devo- 
tions, the  beautiful  hymn  by  Addison  : 

"  The  spacious  firmament  on  liigh, 
"With  all  the  blue  ethereal  sky, 
And  spangled  heavens,  a  shining  frame, 
Their  great  Original  proclaim ; 
The  unwearied  sun  from  day  to  day 
Does  his  Creator's  power  display, 
And  publishes  to  every  land 
The  work  of  an  Almighty  hand. 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  373 

Soon  as  the  evening  shades  prevail, 
The  moon  takes  up  the  wondrous  ti.Ie, 
And  nightly  to  the  list'ning  earth 
Repeats  the  story  of  her  birth ; 
Whilst  all  the  stars  that  round  her  burn 
And  all  the  planets,  in  their  turn, 
Confirm  the  tidings  as  they  roll, 
And  spread  the  truth  from  pole  to  pole 

"What  though  in  solemn  silence  all 
Move  round  the  dark  terrestrial  ball  ? 
What  though  no  real  voice  nor  sound 
Amid  their  radiant  orbs  be  found  ? 
In  reitson's  ear  they  all  rejoice, 
Aud  utter  forth  a  glorious  voice ; 
For  ever  singing  as  they  shine, 
The  hand  that  made  us  is  divine  I" 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

Alice's  Wish— Dr.  Sinclair's  Consent — Waiting  for  Mr.  Old 
buckle— His  Arrival — Lord  Rosse's  Telescope  Again — The  Mi- 
croscope—The Wonders  of  a  Fly — The  Spider's  "  Hand" — A 
Flea — Wonderful  Leaping — Various  Woods — The  Skin  and  its 
Pores — Fanny's  Hair — Points  Contrasted — Other  Objects — Ani- 
mated Nature  Displayed. 

H  ~F\APA,"  said  Alice,  as  she  entered  the  library, 

\_  after  she  had  attended  to  her  after-breakfast 
duties,  "  will  you  show  us  the  microscope  this 
morning  ?  Herbert  wishes  to  know  how  to  use  his 
when  he  goes  home,  and  we  shall  all  enjoy  it  very 
much." 

"  I  have  no  objection,  at  all,  Alice,"  said  her  father ; 
"  though,  if  you  will  wait  half  an  hour,  Mr.  Oldbuckle 
will  probably  be  here,  as  he  sent  me  word  this  morn- 
ing,  that  he  should  soon  be  over." 

"  Then  we  will  wait,  papa,  by  all  means,  for  I  am 
always  glad  to  have  Mr.  Oldbuckle  with  us,  when  we 
are  playing  '  Philosophy  at  Home.'  " 

Nearly  an  hour  passed  by  before  Mr.  Oldbuckle 
came,  but  the  young  people  had  found  pleasant  occu- 
pation with  books,  and  did  not  feel  any  impatience. 
As  for  William  Sinclair,  he  had  become  so  much  in- 
terested in  Henry  Esmond's  fortunes,  that  Alice  had 


PHILOSOPHY   AT   HOME.  375 

some  doubt  whether  even  the  wonders  of  the  micro- 
scope would  divert  his  attention  therefrom. 

When  their  excellent  friend  from  the  Grove  ar« 
rived,  he  had  some  English  news  to  communicate  to 
Dr.  Sinclair,  and  when  the  budget  was  exhausted, 
Alice  asked  him  if  he  would  like  to  join  them  in  a 
microscopic  lesson.  He  cheerfully  assented,  and  in- 
quired what  new  topics  they  had  investigated  in  his 
absence.  When  Alice  told  him  that  they  had  been 
to  the  railroad,  and  had  a  conversation  on  steam- 
engines,  and  that  they  had  also  made  a  visit  to  the 
moon,  he  exclaimed : 

"  The  steam-engine  and  the  moon,  all  in  one  day  ! 
I  am  afraid  you  are  hurrying  so  fast,  that  you  will 
*ose  sight  of  some  of  the  wonders  by  the  way." 

"  We  saw  a  great  many,  at  all  events,"  said 
Alice. 

"  Yes,"  added  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  they  did  not  see  all ; 
out  if  they  will  only  remember  those  they  did  see, 
the  lessons  will  not  be  lost." 

"That  I  am  sure  they  will  not  be  upon  such 
pupils,"  and  the  old  gentleman  smiled  affably  upon 
the  young  people  around  him,  and  he  immediately 
added  :  "  But  did  you  talk  about  Lord  Rosse's  great 
telescope  at  Parsonstown  ?" 

"  It  received  '  honourable  mention,'  sir,"  replied 
William  Sinclair,  "  and  we  would  have  awarded  it 
'  a  gold  medal,'  if  we  had  possessed  one  of  sufficient 
merit." 


370  HARRYS  VACATION;  OR, 

Mr.  Oidbuckle  laughed  at  William's  allusions  to  the 
jury  awards  at  the  great  Crystal  Palace,  and  said, 

"I  visited  Lord  Rosse's  estate  in  1849,  and  had 
the  pleasure  of  repeated  observations  in  his  monster 
telescope — a  name  which  is  not  only  just  in  itself, 
but  also  necessary  to  distinguish  it  from  the  other 
great  telescope  erected  upon  his  grounds." 

"  I  did  not  know,"  said  William  Sinclair,  "  that 
there  was  another." 

"  I  might  have  said  others,  with  truth,"  continued 
Mr.  Oidbuckle,  "  for  there  were  three,  at  the  time  of 
my  delightful  sojourn  at  Parsonstown,  to  which  the 
degrees  of  comparison  might  well  be  applied — great, 
greater,  greatest.  They  are  grouped  together,  the 
smallest  in  a  temple  with  a  dome,  and  the  two  larger 
ones  open  to  the  weather,  but  surrounded  by  lofty 
Gothic  walls.  The  larger  of  these  was  scarcely  com- 
pleted, before  Lord  Rosse  conceived  and  commenced 
the  construction  of  the  '  monster  telescope,'  which  is 
more  than  twice  the  dimensions  of  the  other." 

"  Why,  I  should  think  all  the  astronomers  in  the 
world  would  congregate  at  Lord  Rosse's  estate,"  said 
William. 

"  All  who  go  there,  and  they  are  not  few,"  replied 
Mr.  Oidbuckle,  "  experience  a  generous  hospitality 
from  the  noble  proprietor,  or  in  his  absence,  from 
his  intelligent  steward." 

"  The  '  monster  telescope,'  "  said  Herbert,  "  must 
have  cost  a  vast  sum  of  money,  I  should  think." 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  377 

"  I  do  not  know  how  much,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle, 
"  but  I  have  understood  that  the  noble  lord  has  ex- 
pended,  altogether,  nearly  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  in  the  furtherance  of  astronomical  observa- 
tions." 

"  And  purchased  therewith  a  world-wide  meed  of 
fame  and  admiration,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  with  a  little 
of  his  friend's  enthusiasm. 

"  What  a  pity  it  is,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  that 
Lord  Rosse's  magnificent  estate  and  his  glorious  ob- 
servatories are  not  erected  somewhere  beneath  the 
clear  blu>>.  skies  of  this  country." 

"  Why  so,  Mr  Oldbuckle  ?"  said  William  ;  "  I  did 
not  give  you  credit  for  being  so  much  of  a  Yankee 
as  to  desire  to  rob  Great  Britain  of  such  '  a  fair  jewel 
in  her  crown.' " 

"  I  will  answer  you,"  replied  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  in 
the  language  of  Brutus,  altered  for  the  occasion ' 

'  Not  that  I  love  Britain  less,  but  science  more ;' 

and  I  must  add,  to  make  myself  intelligible,  that  the 
atmosphere  of  Ireland  is  so  humid,  that  it  is  exceed- 
ingly difficult  to  obtain  observations  there,  while 
here  our  skies  are  clear,  and  instead  of  one  night  in  a 
week,  upon  an  average,  we  have  three  or  four,  per- 
haps, suitable  for  astronomical  purposes." 

"  We  have  as  yet,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  no  Lord 
Rosses  in  this  country,  whose  princely  fortunes 
enable  them  to  build  monster  telescopes ;  but  Ameri- 


378  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

can  enterprise  is  extending  even  to  the  objects  of 
science,  and  already  numerous  well-furnished  obser- 
vatories have  been  established,  while  American  ma- 
chinists supply  respectable  reflecting  telescopes  at 
moderate  prices." 

"  I  must  beg  the  pleasure  of  inspecting  your  new 
instrument,  upon  some  early  occasion,"  said  Mr. 
Oldbuckle  ;  "  but  now,  my  dear  sir,  do  not  let  me 
keep  you  and  these  young  philosophers  any  longer 
from  that  little  twin  brother  of  the  telescope,  the 
microscope." 

"  I  have  already  made  one  exhibition  of  this  instru- 
ment to  the  young  people,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  pro- 
ducing his  microscope;  "  but  we  confined  our  attention 
to  the  subject  of  crystallization,  and  even  in  that  de- 
partment, we  made  but  a  meagre  show.  I  propose 
this  morning  to  take  a  more  discursive  range,  and  I 
could  wish  earnestly  that  I  had  an  oxy-hydrogen 
microscope,  with  which  to  startle  and  amaze  these 
eager  spectators." 

"  You  have  an  instrument  of  much  beauty,  cer- 
tainly, in  this  compound  microscope,"  said  Mr.  Old- 
buckle. 

"  It  is  one  of  the  best,  for  its  cost,  which  I  have 
ever  seen,'r  replied  Dr.  Sinclair.  "  It  was  made  by 
Harrison,  of  Hull,  whose  instruments  you  have  doubt- 
less heard  of;  and  with  the  addition  of  Rcsse's  high 
power  lens,  and  ether  appliances,  cost  me  less  thao 
fifty  dollars." 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  379 

Dr.  Sinclair  now  adjusted  the  microscope,  and  ex- 
plained, as  far  as  it  was  necessary,  its  various  parts. 
lie  then  opened  a  small  case,  from  which  he  took  a 
dozen  slips  of  glass,  about  two  inches  long,  and  three 
quarters  of  an  inch  wide.  These  slips  were  double, 
being  fastened  together  at  the  edges,  and  between 
them,  at  intervals  of  half  an  inch,  were  "  objects"  for 
microscopic  use.  Besides  these  slips,  or  "  slides,"  as 
Dr.  Sinclair  called  them,  he  laid  upon  the  table  small 
forceps,  glass  cells,  and  other  appliances,  ready  for 
use. 

"This  slide,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "is  devoted  to 
the  house-fly,  and  contains  three  examples  of  the 
wonders  which  that  familiar  insect  carries  about  in 
his  body." 

"And  shall  we  see  the  fly's  sucker,  sirl"  said 
Harry. 

"  You  are  not  converted,  then,  by  my  remarks,  to 
the  glue  theory,  Harry  ?" 

"  I  think  it  is  so  much  more  romantic  to  believe 
that  the  fly  has  a  sucker  in  its  foot,  than  that  it  fastens 
itself  to  the  ceiling  or  to  the  window-pane  by  gum," 
replied  Harry. 

"But  only  think,  Harry,"  continued  his  father, 
"that  if  the  fly  makes  a  philosophical  experiment 
every  time  it  puts  its  foot  down,  it  must  do  this  at 
least  ten  thousand  times  in  a  minute !" 

"  P-h-c-w !  that  is  rather  a  staggerer !"  said  Harry. 

"  But  here  is  the  fly's  foot,"  resumed  his  father ; 


880  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"I  will  put  it  into  the  focus  of  the  object-glass,  and 
you  may  all  examine  it  in  turn." 

"Oh!  what  an  ugly-looking  object!"  said  Alice; 
"  four  great  joints,  two  sharp  claws,  and  two  things 
which  look  like  wings." 

"They  are  the  pads,  Alice,  upon  which  the  fly 
walks,"  said  her  father. 

"  I  see  no  gum,  papa,"  said  Alice. 

"  That  is  not  strange,  for  the  specimen  is  old  and 
dry,  and  there  might  have  been  none  exuded  from 
the  pores,  which  you  may  see,  when  the  foot  was 
prepared." 

When  the  fly's  foot  had  been  duly  examined  by  all, 
Dr.  Sinclair  pushed  the  slide  forward,  and  brought 
the  eye  of  a  fly  into  the  field  of  vision, 

"  It  looks  to  me  like  a  piece  of  coarse  lace,"  said 
Mary. 

"Or  like  a  piece  of  honey-comb,  I  should  say," 
was  Harry's  observation,  as  he  obtained  a  glimpse  of 
the  object. 

"  The  eye  of  the  fly  is  compound,"  said  Dr.  Sin. 
clair,  "  and  patient  examination  will  show  that  there 
are  four  thousand  divisions,  or  distinct  lenses,  within 
that  exceedingly  minute  object,  and  every  one  of 
these  points  is  capable  of  distinct  vision." 

"  If  the  microscope  did  not  reveal  marvels  at  eveiy 
glance,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "we  might  afford  to 
stop  and  wonder  at  such  as  this." 

The  other  object  upon  the  slide  was  the  proboscis 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  381 

of  a  fly,  with  which  it  sips  up  fluids  from  the  table. 
an  1  which  exhibited  its  interior  cavity  very  distinctly. 
The  next  slide  revealed  further  curiosities  of  the 
insect  world,  of  which  nothing  was  examined  with 
more  interest  than  the  foot  of  the  spider.  This 
appeared  armed  with  formidable  claws  or  fingers, 
and  Dr.  Sinclair  inquired  if  any  one  recollected  the 
mention  of  these  in  the  Bible.  As  no  one  answered 
his  question,  he  reminded  them  that  king  Solomon 
says,  in  his  book  of  Proverbs,  "The  spider  taketh 
hold  with  her  hands ;"  a  very  graphic  description  of 
the  manner  in  which  this  voracious  insect  seizes  its 
victims. 

Harry  thought  the  flea  greatly  resembled  a  lobster; 
and  its  curiously  curved  back,  its  six  stout  legs  and 
thighs,  and  its  shell-like  scales,  which  arm  it  like  a 
coat  of  mail,  somewhat  justify  the  comparison. 
Fanny  declared  that  a  flea  would  frighten  her  more 
than  ever.  Dr.  Sinclair  told  them  that  the  large 
thighs  of  the  insect  contained  the  strong  muscles 
which  it  required,  to  perform  its  extraordinary  leaps 
of  perhaps  a  thousand  times  the  length  of  its  body. 
"  Why,  if  a  man  could  leap  in  that  proportion," 
said  William  Sinclair,  "he  could  spring  over  the 
Catskill  mountains  at  a  single  bound !" 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  seven-league  boots 
vould  be  at  a  discount ;  and  of  the  locomotive,  even, 
one  might  say — 

'Othello'a  occupation's  gone  I' '" 
17 


382  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

The  next  series  of  objects  embraced  six  sections, 
cut  from  twigs  of  various  trees  and  shrubs.  These 
were  cut  across,  and  so  thin  as  to  be  transparent. 
Some  were  circulai-,  showing  the  whole  section,  and 
others  were  quarters  of  a  circle  from  a  larger  section. 
They  all  presented  a  very  singular  and  beautiful 
appearance.  The  outer  rim,  which  is  the  rind  of  the 
wood,  displayed  a  number  of  layers  or  folds ;  next  to 
this  was  a  broader  rim  or  band,  not  unlike  fine  net- 
work in  its  appearance,  which  is  the  bark  of  the  tree. 
The  next  section  exhibited  the  sap-wood ;  the  next,  the 
harder  wood;  while  in  the  centre  was  the  pith- 
column.  The  whole  surface  was  covered  with  cells 
or  vessels,  in  which  the  sap  circulates.  No  two 
varieties  of  wood  were  alike,  and  the  harder  wood, 
such  as  the  box,  displayed  a  closer  arrangement  of  its 
cells,  than  the  woods  of  softer  fibre. 

The  next  objects  which  were  presented,  were  three 
varieties  of  skin,  so  disposed  that  the  secretory  pores 
were  visible,  like  minute  needle-holes.  With  a 
specimen  beneath  the  lens  of  the  microscope,  the 
young  people  could  not  cavil  at  Dr.  Sinclair's  state- 
ment, that  a  square  inch  of  the  human  skin  contains 
nearly  fifteen  thousand  of  these  distinct  tubes !  A 
variety  of  specimens  of  hair  was  next  examined,  and 
the  large  hollow  tube,  into  which  the  microscope  con- 
verted a  hair,  taken  from  one  of  Fanny's  golden  curls, 
greatly  astonished  the  little  girl.  Some  of  the  speci- 
mens, the  hair  of  the  bat  among  them,  displayed  littlo 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  383 

tufts  or  fringes,  at  regular  intervals  along  the  tube, 
which  latter  appeared  to  be  filled  with  colouring  mat- 
ter. A  transverse  section  of  a  porcupine's  quill  af- 
forded much  gratification.  It  exhibited  radii  of  a  whit- 
ish substance,  which  Dr.  Sinclair  said  was  marrow. 

"Now,  Mary,"  said  her  father,  "which  do  you 
think  is  the  finer — this  cambric  needle,  which 
mamma  has  just  lent  me,  or  this  thorn  which  I  cut 
from  a  rose-bush,  just  now  ?" 

"  I  think  the  needle  is  much  the  finer,  papa,"  said 
Mary. 

"  You  shall  see  the  points  of  both,  side  by  side,  hi 
the  microscope,"  said  her  father,  "  and  then  you  shall 
tell  me  again." 

"  Oh !  papa,"  she  exclaimed,  as  she  saw  the  two 
objects  protruded  before  her  eyes,  "  what  a  difference  ! 
one  is  a  great,  rough,  black  rod,  and  the  other  is  per- 
fectly smooth  and  bright-coloured,  though  of  equal 
size." 

"  The  latter  is  the  thorn — a  point  of  God's  fashion- 
ing," said  her  father,  "  and  the  former  is  man's  work, 
which  certainly  suffers  in  comparison." 

"What  a  mass  of  huge  twisted  ropes,"  said  Harry, 
as  he  looked  at  a  piece  of  lace ;  and  a  piece  of  the 
finest  linen  cambric  seemed  to  him  coarser  than  any 
cotton-bagging  he  had  ever  seen. 

"  These,"  said  his  father,  "are  more  of  man's  handi 
work,  which,  it  seems,  does  not  bear  microscopic 
examination." 


384  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OK, 

"  Oh !  papa,  what  a  beautiful  object !"  was  Alice's 
exclamation,  as  a  fish-scale  was  subjected  to  the  mi- 
croscope. It  glittered  like  a  mass  of  mica,  and 
exhibited  a  complicated  structure.  The  dust  of  the 
lycoperdon,  a  species  of  fungus,  which  grows  in  the 
form  of  a  puff-ball,  was  next  presented,  and  the 
scarce  visible  particles  were  converted  into  round 
orange-coloured  globules,  not  unlike  mustard-seed. 

"We  will  take  a  glimpse  of  animated  nature,  now," 
said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  if  Harry  will  get  me  the  vinegar- 
f,ruet," 

"  Oh  !  papa  !"  said  Mary,  "  you  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  there  are  animals  in  vinegar  ?" 

"  Certainly  I  do,  my  child ;  but  of  that  you  can 
have  proof  without  the  microscope.  Most  strong 
vinegar  contains  a  little  eel-like  animal,  which  is 
visible  to  the  eye  in  a  strong  light." 

Harry  now  brought  the  vinegar-cruet,  and  Dr. 
Sinclair  held  it  up  to  the  light,  proving  the  truth  of 
his  words.  He  then  poured  a  little  of  the  fluid  into 
a  glass  cell,  which  he  closed  by  sliding  a  piece  of  glass 
over  it.  It  was  then  placed  in  the  microscope,  and 
the  whole  field  of  vision  was  occupied  by  six  or  eight 
large-sized  eels,  or  snakes,  as  Fanny  called  them, 
which  writhed  about  with  the  wildest  contortions. 
Mrs,  Sinclair  looked  at  them  with  a  shuddering  sen- 
sation, and  said  she  did  not  generally  give  way  to 
squeamishness,  but  she  hoped  she  should  forget  the 
vision  when  she  had  occasion  again  to  use  vinegar. 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  385 

"  Show  us  the  mites  in  cheese,  papa,"  said  Harry. 

"  We  have  no  cheese  old  enough,"  said  his 
mother. 

Dr.  Sinclair  laughed,  and  told  Harry  to  make 
another  visit  to  the  pantry,  and  to  bring  some  of  the 
dust  off  the  rind  of  the  cheese,  and  if  he  could  find  a 
fig,  to  bring  that  also." 

"  Oh !  papa  !"  said  Mary,  "  please  don't  show  me 
ugly  living  things  in  figs,  or  I  shall  never  eat 
another." 

"  My  store-house  will  be  the  richer  for  that,"  said 
her  mother ;  and  she  added,  laughing,  "  Figs  are  one 
of  Mary's  weaknesses." 

When  the  cheese-paring  and  the  fig  were  brought, 
Dr.  Sinclair  exposed  minute  fragments  of  the  first  to 
the  magnifying  lens,  and  there  was  a  scene  of  terrible 
rioting  upon  the  glass.  A  dozen  uncouth-shaped 
creatures,  whose  globular  bodies  were  provided  with 
eight  arms  or  legs,  were  tumbling  over  one  another, 
and  over  the  fragments  of  cheese-dust,  equally  mag- 
nified. 

"  The  warmth  of  the  sun  has  quickened  their  mo- 
tions," said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  as  he  glanced  at  their 
gambols. 

"  What  do  you  call  these  creatures,  sir  ?"  asked 
William. 

"  They  belong  to  the  acari  tribe,"  said  his  father, 
"  while  the  vinegar-eels  are  called  infusiorse  or  ani- 
malcnla?." 


386  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

The  fig-dust  was  put  beneath  the  lens,  in  spite  of 
Mary's  playful  resistance,  and  it  revealed  a  degree  of 
animation  scarcely  less  remarkable  than  that  of  the 
cheese. 

The  dinner-bell  rang  in  the  midst  of  their  micro- 
scopic investigations,  which  all  the  party  were  loth  to 
exchange  for  the  gratification  of  grosser  tastes,  than 
those  which  science  ministered  to. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

Infusiora — "Wheel  Animalcules —  Flint-Shelled  Infusiorae  —  Fo* 
sils— Fliut  —  Chalk  —Polishing  Slate— Fossil-Flour  -  Dirt-Eat- 
ers—Eating Slate-Pencils — Microscopic  Blood — The  Wisdom 
of  God — Thoughts  of  To-morrow — Pleasant  Intelligence — Mr. 
Oldbuckle's  Adieus — The  End  of  Harry's  Vacation. 

IMMEDIATELY  after  dinner,  the  microscopic 
examinations  were  resumed.  Dr.  Sinclair  told  the 
young  people  that  his  exhibitions  of  the  infusiorae,  or 
animalculjB,  were  greatly  restricted  by  the  season,  as 
the  water  of  stagnant  pools,  or  slow-running  ditches, 
in  which  vegetable  matter  was  constantly  steeped, 
yielded  them  in  the  greatest  variety,  and  these  were 
now  inaccessible. 

"  This  cup,"  ha  continued,  "  contains  an  infusion 
of  hay,  which  has  been  steeped  in  water  since  yester- 
day, and  which,  in  the  temperature  of  this  room, 
should  now  yield  us  abundant  animalculse.  I  will  ex- 
pose to  the  microscope  a  drop  of  it,  which,  to  the 
naked  eye,  appears  to  be  full  of  only  films  and  sedi- 
ment," 

"  Oh !  what  a  singular  sight !"  exclaimed  Alice,  as 
she  placed  her  eye  to  the  instrument.  "  There  are 
hundreds  of  curious  little  animals,  some  round  and 


388  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

some  egg-shaped,  which  seem  to  be  swimming  about, 
just  for  play." 

Alice's  description  was  not  exaggerated.  These 
minute  monads  were  of  many  forms  and  of  many 
colours  ;  and  such  is  the  infinite  variety  of  these  ani- 
malcuke  in  water,  that  it  would  require  a  volume  to 
describe  them. 

"  Of  what  use  are  such  insignificant  creatures  as 
thtrae,  sir "?"  said  Harry. 

"  If  I  can  not  answer  your  question,  particularly, 
my  boy.  I  can  assure  you  that  God  has  made  nothing 
without  a  purpose;  and  every  one  of  the  millions  of 
mfusioros  is  of  some  service  in  the  great  economy  of 
Nature." 

"  I  presume  that  they  furnish  food  for  animals  of 
a  higher  order  than  themselves,  do  they  not  T'  said 
William. 

"  Beyond  a  doubt,"  replied  his  father,  "  and  patient 
watching  would  probably  reveal  to  us  instances  of 
the  destruction  of  the  smaller  by  the  larger  of  these 
animalcules." 

"  There  can  be  no  question,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle, 
"  that  this  infinitely  multiplied  animal  life  is  nourished 
by  the  putrifying  vegetable  matter  from  which  it 
springs,  and  thus,  perhaps,  the  air  is  preserved  from 
corruption,  to  a  vast  extent." 

"  If  this  infusion  were  allowed  to  stand  for  several 
days,"  resumed  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  there  would  appear 
new  varieties  of  anhmlcuke.  These  are  called  mo 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  389 

tiads,  a:id  they  would  be  succeeded  by  paramedic,  and 
those  by  rotiferae,  or  wheel  animalculae,  of  which, 
it  is  ascertained,  there  are  not  fewer  than  two  hundred 
kinds." 

"  Why  are  they  called  wheel  animalculoe,  papa  ?" 
inquired  Alice. 

"  Because  when  in  motion  they  spread  out,  from 
their  mouths,  rays  that  resemble  the  spokes  of  a 
wheel ;  but,"  he  added,  "  it  is  not  in  water  alone  that 
we  find  these  animalculae.  They  exist  in  myriads  in 
the  air,  in  mould,  in  vegetable  cells,  in  the  smut  of 
wheat  and  other  grain,  and  in  a  great  many  other 
forms." 

"  How  truly  does  the  poet  exclaim,"  said  Mr. 
Oldbuckle: 

'  Full  Nature  swarms  with  life :  one  -wondrous  mass 
Of  animals,  or  atoms  organized.' ' 

"  I  will  now  call  your  attention,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair, 
"  to  varieties  of  animalculse  not  now  possessing  life, 
but  affording  evidence  of  its  abundant  existence  in 
past  ages.  They  are  called  the  flint-shelled  animal- 
culse, and  the  race  is  not  extinct.  Countless  myriads 
of  them  dwell  in  pools,  in  ditches,  and  in  the  sea. 
They  are  of  unsurpassed  beauty  of  form,  some  of 
them  resembling  the  ancient  lyre,  and  others  are  cir- 
cular and  covered  with  rays.  In  this  slide  are  minute 
fragments  of  flint,  chalk,  and  coral,  which  I  will  pre- 
sent successively  to  your  notice  in  the  microscope." 


390  HARRY'S  VACATION;  OR, 

"  But  what  have  flint  and  coral  to  do  with  animal, 
culoe,  papa  1"  said  Alice.  "  Surely  there  are  no  ani- 
mals in  such  a  hard  substance  as  flint !" 

"  No  living  animals,  I  grant,"  said  her  father,  "  but 
do  not  be  incredulous  when  I  tell  you,  that  the  hardest 
flint  you  ever  saw  is  composed  of  myriads  of  the 
shells  of  once  living  animals,  invisible  to  the  naked 
eye." 

"  Oh  !  papa !"  said  Harry,  "  that  is  hard  to  be- 
lieve." 

"  It  is  nevertheless  true,"  said  his  father,  "  and  you 
may  believe  also  that  chalk  and  lime,  and  much  of 
the  slate,  are  all  composed  of  the  fossil  remains  of 
animalcuke." 

"  What  are  fossil  remains,  papa  ?"  asked  Alice. 

"  The  term  fossil  is  applied  to  all  petrified  remains 
of  animal  or  vegetable  life,  of  former  periods  of  the 
globe.  Thus  coal  is  a  fossil,  and  bones  of  animals 
dug  up,  are  called  fossils.  Marl,  and  lime,  and  chalk, 
are  also  fossils  of  animalcules.  But  look  at  these 
fragments  of  flint  in  the  microscope,  and  observe  the 
variety  of  forms  they  present." 

"  Those  star-like  fossils,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  as 
he  glanced  at  the  object,  "are  exceedingly  beauti- 
ful." 

"They  are  the  shells  of  animalculae  that  existed 
many  ages  ago,"  continued  Dr.  Sinclair ;  "  and  these 
and  kindred  forms,  now  constitute  rocks  and  soils  in 
different  parts  of  the  globe.  These  chalk  fragments 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  391 

are  composed  of  exceedingly  curious  fossils,  called 
foraminifera." 

"  Oh  !  what  pretty  shells !"  said  Fanny,  wnen  her 
eager  eye  caught  sight  of  them.  "  They  are  full  of 
holes,  and  I  think  I  should  like  to  string  them  for 
beads." 

"  I  am  reminded,"  said  Mr.  Oldbuckle,  "  of  the 
saying  of  the  early  naturalists,  '  Omnis  calx  ex  ver- 
mibus,'  (or,  to  translate,  for  the  benefit  of  the  young 
people, '  All  chalk  is  made  by  worms,')  and  there  is 
a  vast  degree  of  truth  embraced  in  it,  which  the 
microscope  reveals  to  us." 

"  In  Prussia,"  said  Dr.  Sinclair,  "  there  is  found  a 
fossil  called  polishing-slate,  which  is  entirely  composed 
of  the  shells  of  infusiorge,  so  exceedingly  minute  that 
a  piece  of  the  stone,  not  larger  than  a  thimble,  or  a 
common  marble,  contains  ten  thousand  millions  of 
distinct  animals,  and  the  weight  of  all  the  vast  multi- 
tude would  not  exceed  fifty  grains !" 

The  astonishment  of  the  young  philosophers  was 
growing  at  every  step  of  the  examination,  and  would 
find  expression  in  a  variety  of  ways.  When  Dr. 
Sinclair  concluded  his  account  of  the  polishing-slate, 
Harry  ventured  to  say  that  he  thought  that  was  the 
climax  of  animalculse  wonders. 

"  Let  me  see  if  I  can  not  excel  it,"  said  Mr.  Old- 
buckle.  "  I  have  read  descriptions  of  a  species  of 
earth  in  Swedish  Lapland,  which  is  found  under  a 
rast  bed  of  decayed  moss.  Four  fifths  of  this  earth 


392  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

is  composed  of  fossil  animalculse.  It  is  called  berg, 
raehl,  and  in  seasons  of  scarcity  of  food,  which  occur 
frequently  in  that  far  northern  country,  the  poorer 
classes  of  the  people  mix  this  earth  with  their  flour, 
and  consume  it  as  food." 

"  Oh !  Mr.  Oldbuckle !"  said  Alice, "  do  you  believe 
that  ?" 

"  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  it,  my  bird ;  and 
one  of  the  Chinese  missionaries  records  the  existence 
and  similar  use  of  this  earth  in  China,  in  seasons  of 
scarcity." 

"  Can  it  nourish  them,  do  you  suppose,  sir  ?"  said 
Herbert. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  it,  Dr.  Sinclair  ?"  said  Mr. 
Oldbuckle. 

"  I  think  not,"  he  replied ;  "  but  it  probably  serves 
to  fill  the  stomach  and  prevent  the  sensation  of 
hunger.  Moreover,  it  is  stated  that  the  use  of  this 
fossil  flour,  without  meal,  is  soon  fatal  to  life  ;  but," 
he  added,  after  a  slight  pause,  "  the  Laplanders  or  the 
Chinese  are  not  the  only  people  in  the  world,  that  eat 
dirt." 

"  What  other  people  commit  such  a  barbarism  ?" 
inquired  Mrs.  Sinclair. 

"  Americans,  my  dear,"  replied  her  husband. 

"You  amaze  and  perplex  me  exceedingly,"  she 
rejoined. 

"  I  saw,  during  a  visit  to  the  South,  and  while  in 
the  upper  part  of  Georgia,"  continued  Dr.  Sinclair, 


PHILOSOPHY    AT   HOME.  393 

*  whole  families  of  very  poor  people,  whose  com- 
plexions were  of  a  deathly  whiteness,  and  their  hair 
resembled  flax.  I  was  told  that  they  acquired  this 
appearance  by  eating  clay  habitually,  and  they  go  by 
the  name  of  '  dirt-eaters.'  I  remember  conversing 
with  Professor  Agassiz,  on  this  subject,  and  he  ex- 
pressed a  curiosity  to  examine  the  clay  or  dirt  which 
these  people  were  accustomed  to  eat,  presuming  that 
it  is  composed  chiefly,  if  not  altogether,  of  fossil 
infusiorse." 

"  What  a  revolting  idea  these  dirt-caters  suggest 
to  the  mind,"  said  Mrs.  Sinclair. 

"  I  have  known  boys  and  girls  too,"  said  Dr.  Sin- 
clair, "  who  are  not  exactly  like  these  '  tow-heads'  of 
the  back- woods,  who  nevertheless  injured  their  health 
by  eating  blue-clay,  slate-pencils,  and  even  pipe- 
stems." 

"  Oh  !  papa  !"  said  Alice,  "  I  know  some  girls  who 
eat  up  their  slate-pencils  so  fast  that  they  can  rarely 
keep  a  supply  on  hand." 

"  And  these  girls,"  said  her  father,  "  are  devouring 
fossil  animalculce,  which  if  they  knew,  perhaps,  they 
would  cease  the  evil  habit." 

"  I  shall  certainly  tell  some  of  them  about  this 
conversation,"  said  Alice. 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  tantalize  you,  my  children,  with 
references  to  wonders  which  I  can  not  now  show  you," 
said  Dr.  Sinclair ;  "  but  I  can  not  help  expressing  my 
regret,  that  I  could  not  obtain  a  living  frog,  to  afford 


8U4  HARRYS  VACATION;  OR, 

you  a  view  of  the  circulation  of  blood  in  its  foot 
This  is  justly  regarded  as  a  crowning  wonder  of  the 
microscopic  exhibitions,  especially  when  shown  upon 
the  screen  of  an  oxy-hydrogen  microscope.  The  red 
colour  of  blood  is  entirely  owing  to  the  presence  of 
little  globules,  or  corpuscles,  which  float  about  and 
are  full  of  deep  red  fluid.  If  the  web  of  a  frog's  foot 
be  placed  under  the  microscope,  these  globules  arc 
seen  coursing  rapidly  through  the  veins  or  blood-ves- 
sels, and  upon  the  screen  of  a  solar  or  gas  microscope, 
the  effect  is  very  beautiful.  A  tide  of  these  red, 
oblong  corpuscles  rushes  over  the  screen,  and  then  they 
enter  the  smaller  vessels  and  are  carried  off"  out  of 
view.  As  I  can  not  show  you  this  sight,  I  will  invite 
your  attention  to  a  drop  of  blood  which  I  will  gener- 
ously sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  science  for  your  in- 
struction." 

Dr.  Sinclair  pricked  his  finger  with  the  point  of  a 
needle,  and  rubbed  the  slight  wound  upon  a  slip  of 
glass,  so  as  to  spread  the  blood  over  its  surface.  lie 
then  put  the  glass  into  the  microscope,  and  bade 
Alice  look  at  it. 

"Why,  papa,"  she  exclaimed,  "the  globules  are 
quite  round,  and  not  oblong,  as  you  described  them 
hi  the  frog's  foot." 

"  They  are  round  and  small  hi  the  human  blood," 
replied  her  father,  "  and  if  you  notice  clearly,  they 
are  also  concave." 

When  all  had  examined  the  blood  upon  the  glass, 


PHILOSOPHY   AT    HOME.  395 

Mr.  Oldbuckle  asked  Dr.  Sinclair  if  he  had  any  mora 
wonders  to  re~v  eal  to  them  ? 

"  I  believe  I  have  done,  my  dear  sir,"  he  replied, 
"  though  I  have  not  glanced  at  the  thousandth  part  of 
the  marvels  which  the  microscope  reveals.  I  hope  I 
have  succeeded  in  impressing  the  minds  of  the  young 
people  with  the  astonishing  variety,  beauty,  and  wis- 
dom of  God's  works ;  the  very  smallest  of  which 
declare  his  glory  as  effectually  as  the  magnificent  sun 
which  shines  in  our  system." 

"  Your  examinations  with  the  telescope,  yesterday, 
and  those  with  the  microscope,  to-day,"  said  Mr.  Old- 
buckle,  "  have  brought  before  these  young  minds,  the 
extremes  of  God's  creative  power ;  and  I  am  reminded 
of  the  words  of  the  eloquent  Doctor  Chalmers  : 
'  While  the  telescope  enables ,  us  to  see  a  system  in 
every  star,  the  microscope  unfolds  to  us  a  world  in 
every  atom.'  Truly  did  the  Psalmist  exclaim — 

1  Oh !  Lord,  how  manifold  are  thy  works  I 
In  wisdom  hast  thou  made  them  aU; 
The  earth  is  full  of  thy  riches.' " 

Tliis  was  the  last  formal  lesson  in  philosophy  which 
the  young  people  received  during  Herbert's  delight- 
ful visit  at  Beech  wood.  The  next  day  they  were  to 
return  to  the  city ;  he  to  his  own  beloved  home,  and 
Harry  away  from  his,  to  the  duties  of  school-life, 
where  he  could  not  expect  to  find  the  paths  to  know 
!  edge  as  pleasant  as  those  in  which  he  had  been  ran: 


396  HARRY'S  VACATION  ;  OR, 

bling  foi  a  fortnight.  As  Herbert,  however,  was  to 
share  with  him  the  tasks  and  trials  of  his  school -hours, 
so  he  looked  forward  to  a  participation  in  the  pleasures 
of  his  school-fellow's  home ;  for,  to  the  great  rejoicing 
)f  both  of  them,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Russcl  had  consented, 
at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  Dr.  Sinclair,  to  receive 
Harry  into  his  family,  during  the  rest  of  his  stay  at 
school  in  the  city.  Dr.  Sinclair  did  not  tell  Harry 
and  Herbert  of  this,  until  the  former  began  to  look 
sad  with  the  thought  that  his  vacation  was  at  an  end, 
and  that  he  must  leave  his  happy  home  and  all  its 
loved  ones.  It  proved  a  great  consolation  to  hioi, 
and  he  began,  at  once,  to  talk  cheerfully  of  the  next 
term. 

"  And  Herbert  shall  come  back  with  me,  in  July, 
shall  he  not,  dear  mamma  ?"  said  Harry. 

"  If  he  wishes  to  come,  my  boy,"  said  his  mother, 
"  and  Dr.  Russel  is  willing,  we  shall  give  him  even 
a  warmer  welcome  thin  we  did  a  fortnight  ago  this 
afternoon.  Then  we  welcomed  him  for  your  sake, 
and  when  he  comes  again  we  shall  welcome  him  no 
less  for  his  own." 

Herbert's  eyes  were  full  of  quick  tears,  and  hia 
lip  quivered,  as  he  vainly  tried  to  express  the  thanks 
and  love  which  were  overflowing  his  heart.  Mrs. 
Sinclair's  eyes  were  not  less  quick  than  those  of  Alice, 
to  detect  his  emotion,  and  she  turned  to  Mr.  Old- 
buckle,  saying  gaily — 

"You  must  bear  in  mind,  my  dear  sir,  that  wo 


PHILOSOPHY    AT    HOME.  397 

shall  be  lonely  enough,  when  all  these  young  gentle- 
men have  taken  their  departure,  and  let  us  see  much 
of  you  at  Beechwood,  although  our  delightful  lessons 
in  home-philosophy  may  be  suspended — not  ended, 
I  hope." 

"  I  shall  obey  your  injunction,  my  dear  madam, 
most  willingly.  And  now,"  he  added,  "  I  must  bid 
my  young  friends  good-bye,  for  I  regret  that  I  can 
not  linger  to  tea,  as  I  could  wish  to  do.  Good-bye, 
Harry,  and  good-bye,  Herbert,  my  dear  boys,  both 
of  you,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  giving  a  hand  to 
each.  "  I  hope  I  shall  be  spared  to  join  you  both 
again  in  scientific  amusements,  at  Beechwood;  but 
whether  I  am  or  not,  my  heart's  benedictions  rest 
upon  you."  Then  turning  to  William  Sinclair,  he 
said — 

"And  I  must  bid  you  good-bye,  too,  I  suppose, 
my  young  friend,  which  I  do  with  the  hearty  wish 
that  you  may  take  the  highest  honours  of  your  class, 
at  college." 

Mr.  Oldbuckle's  adieus  were  warmly  responded  to 
by  William,  as  they  had  been  also  by  the  school- 
fellows, and  with  less  formal  leave-taking  of  the  rest 
of  the  family,  he  departed. 

There  is  always  sadness  in  the  separation  of  those 
who  love  each  other,  and  the  family  at  Beechwood 
did  not  look  forward  to  the  morrow  without  pain. 
We  will  not  linger  till  the  last  words  were  said,  for 
\ve  may  readily  imagine  that  they  were  spoken  hur 


398  HARRY'S  VACATION. 

riedly,  and  that  there  had  been  gayer  groups  assem 
bled  upon  the  porch  of  the  hall,  during  the  past 
fortnight,  than  that  which  was  collected  there  imme- 
diately after  breakfast,  the  next  day. 

Dr.  Sinclair  and  the  girls  accompanied  William 
and  the  school-fellows  to  the  station,  and  saw  them 
depart  upon  the  rail-way,  in  different  directions,  how- 
ever; all  of  them  bearing  with  them  delightful 
memories  of  the  pleasures  they  had  enjoyed  duricg 
HARRY'S  VACATION. 


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